Thanks that does help!
And now I noticed on a re-read that the Decay section says, "and additional boons per tier". I had a thought - maybe this point about unlocking the additional Actions could be re-iterated in that top right section describing the Actions in place of the redundant language.
What is the Improvise action referring to exactly? Is it the only way to do any non-Sword related activities? If so, it feels like in the beginning of the game when my Sword Score is high it would cost a high number of Shards to do anything. But I'm thinking maybe that's an intentional design choice to incentivize/force people to engage with their Sword first and foremost?
Apologies if these questions/suggestions feel nitpicky. I'm super into this game and your whole aesthetic, so I'm just motivated to play it correctly and help make any clarifications to the presentation of the rules.
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Those are really great notes - at some point I plan to release all this as a collected work with some new content and ill probably update the language to make it more clear.
- Yes, the idea was that since you only have one stat - SWORD - you are forced to navigate the world only by force at the start of the game but as you take damage you gain more powers and the ability to improvise actions outside of using your sword. The main crux of the game play is needing to decide if you want access to more of your sword's inherent strength or do you want to risk it gain more abilities and flexibility. I was inspired by classic Samurai films - I wanted the player to feel heroic at the beginning of the adventure, able to take on a room full of foes quickly but then have the dynamic shift as the stakes increase and the adventure goes on.
- No need to apologize! I love feedback / constructive critique! Nothing is better when people engage with stuff you've made with curiosity (as im sure you know as a person who makes games).