What Is Momenta?

Momenta Core Rules · Prologue · Welcome · Chapter 00

Version: 0.31

Momenta is a tactical, cinematic fantasy TTRPG built around modular archetypes and slottable masteries. This book covers the core rules, the character-build system, and how a Momenta adventure is structured.

About this document: The rules are presented concisely for TTRPG-veteran readers.

Acknowledgements: Momenta takes inspiration from many excellent TTRPG and JRPG games, including:

• Tri-Stat dX - BODY / MIND / SOUL primary attribute structure.
• Lancer - Zipper initiative, dual-track damage, Structure/Stress model.
• Draw Steel - Single-roll resolution, recoveries, tiers of success for attacks.
• Octopath Traveler - Break system and the Broken condition.
• Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children - Mastery board, mastery sets, “Vigor” terminology.
• Final Fantasy Tactics - Multi-archetype character building.
• Blades in the Dark - Slot-based persistent harm, mission structure, narrative play.
• One-Roll Engine / Yahtzee - Dice patterns-as-resolution lineage.
• Pathfinder 2e - Tag-based content design.
• Tales from Elsewhere - Hit-location concept (Mass/Edge/Mark adopted from Bulk/Brim/Ace).
• Ars Magica - Freeform verb-and-noun spell construction.
• 13th Age / Daggerheart - Experience-based narrative play resolution.

Momenta is a tabletop roleplaying game of cinematic, tactical fantasy. Battles play out on a grid, but they resolve quickly at the speed of a story. You spend Vigor to chain together daring maneuvers, take Strain when you push past your limits, and pour your party’s shared Momentum into Limit Breaks that turn desperate situations into legend.

Every roll is read twice. Roll your pool of d6s, count successes to see how well you did, then scan for dice patterns like in Yahtzee. Doubles land Solid Hits. Triples and Quads fuel rarer and more impactful techniques. Every throw of the dice carries a second chance for something cinematic to happen, and reading it takes a glance, not a calculation.

Your victories belong to the table. Momentum is earned by the whole party and spent by whoever needs it most. The game is built for the moment your friend’s character does something unforgettable because you set it up.

Magic is a grammar, not a spell list. Combine an Art (the verb: Rend, Mend, Compel, Impel…) with a Resonance (the noun: Ignis, Lux, Mens, Terra…) and the grid of combinations is yours to explore. Arts are fixed and comprehensive; Resonances are an open surface, built to be extended, hacked, and homebrewed.

Wounds tell stories. Getting hurt doesn’t just tick a number down. Physical Wounds and mental Burdens carry consequences, afflictions give you something to play, and pushing on versus resting is a real strategic choice.

Character building is a minigame in itself. Combine always-on archetypes and slot masteries to tune the build. Go deep to unlock specialist archetypes, go broad for access to new mastery domains, and retrain freely between missions. Experiment without regret.

Campaigns with a pulse. Play runs on missions with clear main and side objectives, ticking clocks, and a real strategic choice between pushing on and pulling back to rest. Fight on the grid, breathe during interludes, grow in downtime, and advance by achieving objectives, and not solely by counting kills. A tactical wargame and a visual novel, taking turns.

And one core design principle, applied everywhere: if tracking something isn’t fun, Momenta doesn’t track it.