Tags
6. Tags
Tags are the primary descriptive and mechanical language of Worlds That Remember.
This system does not use attributes or traditional skills. Instead, characters, gear, locations, factions, and even ruins are defined by Tags.
A Tag is: • A narrative truth about something • A permission to attempt certain actions • A source of one or more Aspect Dice
Tags describe what is true, not what is optimal.
6.1 Core Principles of Tags
• Tags replace attributes and skill lists • Tags are descriptive first, mechanical second • Tags are gained and lost through play, not leveling • Tags can apply to characters, gear, locations, and the world • Tags always imply narrative consequences
A Tag is only relevant when it meaningfully applies to the situation. If a Tag does not clearly matter, it does not add a die.
6.2 Using Tags in Play
When making a roll:
- The acting player identifies any relevant Tags
- The table confirms applicability
- Each relevant Tag may contribute one Aspect Die
- The player chooses which die that Tag provides
The same Tag may not contribute more than one die to a single roll.
6.3 Tone Dice (Player Choice)
When a Tag is invoked, the player chooses how they are acting.
| Approach | Die | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| Careful | d6 | Controlled, conservative |
| Forceful | d8 | Direct, decisive |
| Risky | d10 | Dangerous, escalating |
| Opportunistic | d12 | Exploiting chaos |
Higher dice introduce greater Effect, Danger, or Opportunity, but also risk harsher consequences through other Aspect Dice.
6.4 Gaining Tags
Tags are primarily gained through play.
You gain Tags by: • surviving severe consequences • repeating meaningful behaviors • bearing Scars • crafting or modifying gear • changing the world in lasting ways
Tag acquisition is contextual and must be justified in the fiction.
6.5 Losing or Changing Tags
Tags are not permanent.
Tags may be: • downgraded • replaced • corrupted • lost entirely
Tag loss is a form of progression, not punishment.
6.6 Character Tags
Characters begin play with: • 3 Character Tags • a Drive framework (declared each Cycle; see Sections 14 and 22)
6.7 Progression Trees (Character Tags)
Some Character Tags are part of Tag Progression Trees (see Section 22).
6.8 Gear Tags
Gear has Tags that describe what it enables or complicates (Section 9).
6.9 Location Tags
Locations are defined by Tags rather than static stats (Section 15).
6.10 World & Ruin Tags
The world itself accumulates Tags. Ruins inherit Tags from what was lost (Sections 15 and 20).
6.11 Tag Limits
Characters have a soft limit of 7 active Character Tags.
When gaining a Tag beyond this: • an existing Tag must be altered, replaced, or lost
6.12 Tag Transformation & Distortion
Tags may change meaning as circumstances change.
Distorted Tags: • are mechanically identical • apply pressure rather than stability • are created through loss, ruin, or catastrophe
Distortion is resolved through normal Tag rules. There is no separate Tag category.
6.13 Design Intent
Tags exist to ensure: • characters evolve through consequence • power always leaves marks • identity is unstable • the world remembers what you do
Tags are the memory system of the game.