Theism

Inhabiting the world

The theist lives in a world where the Gods have already performed the deeds that give reality its shape.

Myths do not merely tell what happened long ago. They show how to act now. Faced with a trial, the theist therefore seeks to recognize within the present Situation something of their God's deeds, Runes, enemies, and allies.

They do not necessarily ask the God to come and change the world. They seek to act so that the world can recognize the God's deed within their own.

Others may call them slaves of the Gods, sheep, or worshippers of false gods.

Reading the roll

• Each even die counts as a Success.
• Each 6 manifests divine support: it allows an odd die to be rerolled.
• If that reroll produces another 6, the support continues.
• If no odd dice remain to be raised, a 6 may bring a new die into the roll.

A 6 is therefore not merely a good face.

It is the moment when the protagonist's deed meets the God's deed and something greater begins to act within the Situation.

When the Worldview falters or is fulfilled

The Silence of the God — Weakened Worldview

Even dice still produce Successes, but 6s trigger no rerolls.

The theist can still act according to what they know and what they are, but no divine echo answers.

The God has not necessarily vanished. Perhaps the protagonist can no longer recognize the divine presence.

Walking the Myth — Heroic Worldview

The simplest heroic reading allows every even die to reroll an odd die. The 6 keeps its ordinary privilege: if no odd die remains, only a 6 may bring a new die into the roll.

Heroes or powers still closer to Myth may act at a higher scale: a 4, or even a 2, may then also bring in a new die when no odd die remains. This scale is fixed by the fiction before the roll and remains stable until the character's relationship to Myth changes.

Divine support no longer appears only through the exceptional 6.

Every fitting deed can prolong the mythical deed.

The hero no longer merely asks for the God's aid: for that moment, their own actions seem naturally to take their place within the Myth.

Where to look

Look for the 6s.

When a 6 appears, do not read it only as a reroll. Ask: what aspect of the God has recognized this deed?

And when rerolls chain together: how far is the protagonist walking in the God's footsteps?

Example of play

An initiate of Orlanth must cross a storm-beaten ridge to warn her clan. Four Bets are in play.

She rolls:

1 · 3 · 4 · 6

The 4 and 6 give two Successes. The 6 rerolls an odd die. The 3 becomes 6: this new manifestation gives a third Success and another reroll. The 1 becomes 2.

Four Bets, four Successes.

What could have been described as a simple successful crossing can now appear otherwise: for a few moments, the wind itself seemed to recognize a daughter of Orlanth.

DESIGN — Why this reading?

Theism turns an exceptional Success into mythic continuity. The 6 does not simply add power: it raises what failed and can begin a chain of manifestations.

The heroic mode carries that logic to its conclusion. When every success can raise a failure, the boundary between the hero's action and the mythical deed becomes much thinner.

And why not runic cards?