Before you begin
You're about to step into a world that doesn't quite add up — and you're one of the few who can tell.
A campaign is a story you and a few others tell together: you play one character, make their choices, and roll dice when the outcome's in doubt. That's it. That's the whole game.
The world you're entering is strange on purpose. That's not a danger to you — it's your edge. Where others shrug and walk past, your character notices, asks, acts. The story happens because of people like you.
By the last page you'll understand how to play and have a character with a real reason to be there. No prep, no memorizing — character creation is guided, and no experience is required.
Start Here
No experience needed. By the end of this section you'll know what a tabletop role-playing game is — and what makes SALT different.
You're about to sit down with a few people and tell a story together. One of you — the Narrator — describes a world and the situations in it. Everyone else plays one character living inside that world. You decide what your character says and does. Dice decide how the risky parts turn out. That's the whole idea; the rest is detail.
It stands for Tabletop Role-Playing Game:
That's You
Each of you controls one character — your hero. You speak for them, choose their actions, and roll for them.
The Guide
One person runs the world, the people in it, and the dangers. They set the difficulty of risky actions. (Other games call this the GM or DM.)
The Spark
When an outcome is in doubt, you roll. Even the Narrator doesn't know exactly how a fight or a gamble will go.
How a moment plays out
Narrator: "The guard blocks the doorway, hand on his sword."
You: "I keep my hands visible and try to talk my way past."
Narrator: "Convincing him won't be easy. Roll to persuade."
You roll. The dice — plus how good your character is at talking — decide whether the door opens or things get worse.
SALT is the rulebook engine you'll play with — built on an unusual idea.
Most games are tied to one world and one genre. Want something new? Learn a whole new rulebook. SALT flips that: it's a universal, modular framework — one consistent core that can power any kind of story, in any setting or genre. The dice and basic moves stay the same; only the world built on top changes.
Rules come in pieces. Your Narrator switches optional pieces on or off to fit the story.
Knight, smuggler, spacefarer, or detective — the same engine runs them all.
Gentle for first-timers, deep for veterans. You can play well knowing only the basics.
Good news
You don't need to memorize anything. You'll learn the few rules that matter as you play, and the Narrator handles the rest. This primer just makes the words familiar — it's not a test.
The only thing to remember
You can't break the game by not knowing a rule. When in doubt, just say what your character tries to do in plain words. The Narrator tells you if a roll is needed. That's the game.
Build-Along
A step-by-step look at creation. You'll do most of this together with your Narrator at the table — this just shows the shape so nothing surprises you.
How to use this section
Don't fill anything out alone. Read it once to see where you're headed, then walk each step through with your Narrator — you decide, they handle the bookkeeping.
Build it for real
When you're ready to actually make a character, the SALT Companion app turns these seven steps into a guided, build-along flow — it does the math, tracks your sheet, and hands you a finished character you can play from. This section shows the shape; the app does the work.
Sum up your character in one sentence — their identity, not their stats. "A dock-worker who notices things other people miss." · "A newly-titled noble with something to prove." · "A wanderer who trusts the wilds more than any city."
Your origin and nature; it quietly shapes some starting numbers and gives you a knack or two. Your Realm's Lineages are introduced in the final section — you'll choose with your Narrator once you have a feel for your character.
Your function in the group and the talents you grow into — the big, fun choice. Your Realm's Roles are introduced in the final section. Pick the one that excites you; there's no wrong answer.
Three Core Attributes describe your broad strengths; everything you roll traces back to them.
Strength, endurance, power. Feeds the Stamina resource.
Perception, memory, insight. Feeds the Focus resource.
Presence, charisma, leadership. Feeds the Aura resource.
Under them sit twelve narrower Sub-Attributes (Strength, Agility, Stealth, Knowledge, Persuasion, and so on). At creation you get 6 Proficiency Ranks to sharpen the ones that fit your character — no more than 3 in any single one. You'll do this with your Narrator.
From your attributes you calculate Stamina, Focus, and Aura — the resources you spend for extra dice and abilities (see section three). Just arithmetic; your Narrator does it with you.
A starting budget for gear: an armament, armor, a useful item. Your Role suggests what fits. Chosen with your Narrator from your Realm's equipment.
Name, look, voice, wants, and who they've left behind. This turns a sheet of numbers into someone worth playing.
Where are the Lineages and Roles?
Because SALT runs many different worlds, the specific Lineages and Roles you can choose belong to your Realm, not the core rules. You'll find the ones for this campaign in the final section, Your Realm. Come to the first session with a one-sentence concept and a Role that excites you — that's all the prep you need.
The Engine
Every uncertain moment resolves the same way: roll a die, add how good you are, compare to a target. Once that clicks, you understand most of the game. This section goes a little deeper so the table runs smoothly — but you'll absorb most of it in play.
SALT runs on the six-sided die (a d6). When your character attempts something uncertain, you roll. Some equipment and abilities use larger dice (d8, d10, and up), but the core check always starts from d6s.
The rule under everything
You can always roll 1d6 for free. Want a better chance? Spend Resources to roll extra d6s and add them all together. The cost rises with each die you add — the Law of Diminishing Returns:
+1 die = 1 Resource +2nd die = 2 Resources +3rd die = 3 Resources
You choose how many dice before you roll. (What "Resources" are comes next.)
Whenever one of your original dice shows a natural 6, it explodes: roll one extra die and add the new result on top. Only your original dice explode this way — if that bonus die is also a 6, it does not explode again. Even so, a single lucky 6 can turn an ordinary attempt into a spectacular one.
"Attribute Check" is the name for a roll against a target. When the Narrator calls for one, here's the complete sequence:
Describe what your character is doing. The Narrator picks the relevant Sub-Attribute and sets a Difficulty Rating (DR) — the number you need to reach. (Higher DR = harder.)
Roll your free 1d6, or spend Resources under the Law of Diminishing Returns to add more dice for a steadier result. Declare the count before rolling.
Roll all your dice, resolve any exploding 6s, then add your Sub-Attribute modifier to the total.
Match your total against the DR to find the outcome — see the table below.
| Result | Threshold | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Total ≥ DR | Full success — you do the thing. |
| Mixed Success | 1–2 below DR | You get what you wanted, but with a complication or cost. |
| Failure | 3+ below DR | The action fails; the situation may turn against you. |
| Critical Failure | Every die rolled a 1 | It fails badly — the Narrator introduces a narrative shift against you. |
When the situation tilts for or against you (clever tactics, good gear, bad footing), you pick up Advantage or Disadvantage: roll one extra d4 and add it (Advantage) or subtract it (Disadvantage). Stacking more sources doesn't add more dice — it makes the single die bigger: two sources → d6, three → d8, four or more → d10.
Resources are the fuel you spend to roll extra dice and power abilities. Managing them is the heart of SALT's strategy. There are three pools.
Physical effort — striking, dodging, climbing, raw power. Fuels nearly every combat action.
Mental clarity and precision — careful aim, lockpicking, problem-solving, and the Empower action.
Social and spiritual force — persuading, resisting, the Recover action, and many special abilities.
Match the pool to the task: Stamina for physical checks, Focus for mental ones, Aura for social or spiritual ones. Each pool has a Current value (what you can spend now) and a Maximum (your cap).
Running dry — Exhaustion
If any one of your pools hits 0, you become Exhausted: Disadvantage on all checks, saves, and combat actions, and you recover Resources at only half-rate until you rest or lift a depleted pool back above zero. You can spend Resources you don't have in a desperate moment — but it forces Exhaustion immediately after. Push your limits carefully.
Combat is a Resource economy. Every round you spend more than you regain, so the winners aren't always the strongest — they're the ones who spend at the right moments.
Your attack power — a flat bonus added to your Armament Die on every attack.
Your defensive backbone — the number that feeds every way you avoid or absorb a hit.
An attack is just Armament Die + Mettle, measured against the defender's Poise-based number.
Combat runs in rounds; every round has four phases. The two that matter most to you:
At the start of each round, everyone regains a small amount of each Resource — its Flow rate — like a second wind. You don't regain Flow while unconscious, and you can't bank above your Maximum (excess is lost). Expiring effects resolve here too.
A. Declare your offensive stance. B. Spend Stamina on actions — Attack, Dash, Recover, Empower, abilities (each action that turn costs +1 more Stamina than the last). C. Declare your defensive stance before enemies strike.
Each enemy attack is compared to your defensive number; the margin decides the result (the "bands," below). A free result always happens; you may spend Stamina to upgrade it.
Lingering effects tick. Then the next round begins. After the fight, everyone subtracts Resources equal to the number of rounds it lasted — combat is draining.
| Stance | The idea | The trade |
|---|---|---|
| Aggressive | All-out offense — your attacks gain Advantage (an extra die), and you can Mark a foe to pressure them. | Your Poise drops by 2 this turn, and you can't retreat from the nearest enemy. |
| Precise | Surgical — +2 to attacks, and a clean hit can inflict a lasting Precision Wound (Bleed, Expose, Stagger…). | No defense penalty, but you trade burst for control. |
| Balanced | The sensible default — no bonus, no penalty. | Totally fine to live here. |
SALT doesn't ask "hit or miss." It compares the attack total to your defensive number and reads the margin — how far the attack landed above your number (it got through) or below it (you held). That margin picks a band, and the band decides what actually happens — a near-miss and a crushing blow are different worlds. You pick one of three defensive stances; each reads its own ladder of bands.
You don't memorize the bands
Each stance has its own ladder of outcomes — from a clean deflection to a guard-shattering blow — and on almost every rung you can spend a little Stamina to do something extra: strike back, catch the hit, dodge clear. The good news: your Narrator reads the band for each attack and tells you the result. You just choose whether to spend. Defense in SALT is active, but you never hold the table in your head.
Practice this live
The full bands — every rung, every upgrade, with a built-in dice roller — live in the SALT Companion app. It walks you through a real exchange so the ladders click by doing, not memorizing.
Spend 1–5 Focus to add a bonus die to an attack or reaction — more Focus, bigger die. Your precision sharpening your strike.
Spend 2 Aura to roll 1d6 (+ a small level bonus) and remove that much Stress. Up to twice a round. Your breather mid-fight.
SALT splits "damage" into two very different things — one of its smartest ideas.
Minor harm — bruises, fatigue, the wear of a fight. Builds fast but you shake it off with Recover or rest.
Serious harm — gashes, breaks, burns. Rare, and they stick: they don't heal on their own and need real care, time, or magic.
Fill your Stress and you fall unconscious. Any hit that lands while you're down becomes a Wound — that's when a fight turns deadly.
Hardening — you get tougher by surviving
The first time your character falls unconscious in a fight, you Harden: permanently choose one of +1 Poise +1d4 Stress Max +1 Wound Max. (It refreshes after a full rest, and you also gain a free Hardening every fifth level.) Surviving a beating literally makes you harder to put down next time.
Enough to play
Roll a die and add your skill; spend Resources for more dice when it counts; in a fight, pick a stance, act, then brace; watch your Stress so it never becomes Wounds; and don't run a pool to zero. Say what your character tries to do — the Narrator tells you what to roll.
Come to your first session with this
Everything above is here so the words make sense when you hear them — not so you arrive with it memorized. To be ready to play, bring these five things. The first three you prepare; the last two the table provides if you don't have them.
What are they called? A name your Narrator and the other players can say out loud. Don't overthink it — it can be as plain or as strange as your character.
Who is this person, and what pulls them into the story? One sentence — their identity and a hook, not their stats. The richer the hook, the more the world has to grab onto.
Your Realm sets the tone here. The final section opens with several ready-made "reasons you're here" you can adopt outright or twist into your own — so if a concept doesn't leap to mind, you'll find one waiting there.
The one big mechanical choice you make in advance: what your character does. The six Roles for this campaign are introduced in the final section — read them, and pick the one that makes you lean forward. There's no wrong answer.
The single page that holds your character's numbers — attributes, Resources, Mettle and Poise, gear. Your Narrator brings blank sheets (paper or digital) and fills yours in with you during creation. You don't prepare this; you just show up and build it together.
SALT runs on six-sided dice, with a few larger dice (d8, d10, and up) for certain gear and abilities. A physical set or a free dice-roller app both work — and your Narrator can always lend you some. Nothing to buy in advance.
What that looks like — a worked example
That's a complete, ready-to-play character. Notice what the player brought from home: a name, a sentence, and a direction. Everything with a number on it happened at the table.
And if you only remember three things
Once you're playing, the whole game collapses to this:
Want the full rules?
Everything on this page — and the deeper rules beneath it — lives in the Atlas: the whole system laid out as a map you can search, trace, and walk at your own pace.
Your Realm
What follows is where. The pages so far were the system — true in every SALT game. Beyond this point is the world this campaign actually lives in: its streets, its powers, the kinds of people in it (your Lineages), and the trades you can take up (your Roles).
Your first realm is Falborne — the city of Montrelis.
Read the Falborne dossier →