Untold Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

There's no doubt that with a game like Untold, that ruthlessly slaughters as "sacred cows" and completely changes the paradigms of what gaming IS and IS NOT, we know there are bound to be questions. That's what this forum is for: answering those questions. We ask that if you have questions about Untold, you check here first and if you're question's not covered below, then ask it here. We'll get to it as soon as we can and hopefully give you a response that'll help you out!

Untold Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is Untold?

A1: Untold is a card-based role playing game. That means there are no rule books or character sheets. Your character is a deck of cards. Not sure how a particular spell or weapon works? Read the card! All of the rules and abilities are printed right on the card.

Q2: How much does it cost to get started in Untold?

A2: Let’s see...you’ll need to build a character. Your friends will need to build characters since you can’t play alone. The GM will need minions and bane cards. $30.00!!! That will get you the Starter Set, which includes enough for a GM AND 6 players!

Q3: What is a C.U.B.E.?

A3: A C.U.B.E. is a Certified Untold Boost Event. Run by one of the Wandering Men or a certified Untold GM, C.U.B.E.’s are demos of the Untold RPG and Untold: Battle.

Q4: How do I become a certified Untold GM?

A4: Contact demo [at symbol] untoldthegame [dot symbol] com

Q5: What is UP?

A5: UP, in the game is an abbreviation or "Untold Points" and they are the points you use to create and build your character. UP, on these forums, are Untold Points that you can earn within your site profile.

Q6: How can I get UP?

A6: UP is given out to people who perform Untold "Good Deeds". This can include writing stuff for the website, editing, participating in C.U.B.E.’s, posting stuff about Untold on other websites, and anything else that assists in spreading the goodness that is Untold.

Q7: What do I do with the UP that I have earned?

A7: Spend It! You can redeem your UP for items in the Untold store.

Q8: As a GM, how would you create balanced encounters for the players?

A8: Character UP is the key here. You can throw out an equal number of minions as there are players in your party so long as no single minion has UP that is greater than twice the UP of a single character. However, pay attention to the MAG (with boosts) of the minions. If a single minion can deal MAG that is more than half of the UP of a character, you may end up killing off the party. If a minion has half the UP of a character, you can throw 3X’s the number of minions at that character.

Q9: What is MAG?

A9: MAG, or magnitude, is how effective a card is at doing it's job. If the card is a Damaging Power card, then MAG represents how much damage it does, if its a Aegis Power Card, then the MAG represents how strong the armor is, etc...

Q10: What is Vitality?

A10: Vitality, or VIT, is your character’s ability to resist damage. If your character is dealt damage, you would subtract your vitality from the damage. If any damage is leftover, your character UP would soak it up. This means that you would now downgrade your character.

There are cards (Aspect Cards, and Aegis Power Cards, for instance) that can increase your character’s Vitality.

Q11: During a single round of combat, is Vitality subtracted from each attack that deals damage?

A11: Yes. Each time damage is dealt to a character, Vitality is subtracted first, and any extra damage is then taken out of the character’s UP and the character must downgrade.

One way to deal with high Vitality characters, is to try directly attacking the powers that provide extra Vitality.

Q12: How do I deal damage to a minion in the RPG or Battle?

A12: Minions take damage the same way a character does. Vitality is subtracted first. Any damage leftover is then dealt to the minion’s UP. When UP is gone, so is the minion. If blue power and yellow aspect cards were added to the minion to make him stronger and more powerful, the minion may take the UP damage from those cards before he takes damage to itself.

Because minion cards cannot be downgraded the way characters can, putting the cards in a clear card sleeve and using a dry erase marker to keep track of UP damage is recommended.

Q13: How does boosting work?

A13: There are three boost types: Mind, Body, and Soul. Each of these can be used once per round. So on your turn, you could use your Soul boost to increase your initiative. Later that same round, you could use your Body boost to increase the result of a Body-based Check Roll. During, some rounds, you might end up using all three boosts. Boosting resets on your character’s initiative (or turn).

Q14: How do you Upgrade (level up) my character?

A14: Quite simply - as you adventure, your character gains more UP from role-playing, defeating enemies, clever and creative Power usage, or any other number of things. This UP adds to the character's total effectiveness, making them "level up".

Q15: How does Untold work with long term campaigns?

A15: The focus of long term campaigns should be character development and growth. A good GM can tell a story to guide the characters. With the Untold setting, he/she can take the characters anywhere and do anything to them. Through this, the characters will gain UP to put towards their Aspects and Powers. The more UP you have, the more your character can grow and develop. And you will be surprised how quickly 200 UP can be used up. Even with additional Power decks, 200 UP does not go far.

Q16: How do Bane cards work?

A16: Bane cards can affect any character or minion. When a power or ability caused a negative effect to a character, that character is now affected by the appropriate Bane card. Each Bane card explains how that character is affected and the negative effects it has on character stats.

Q17: My Power card says Condition (X), if in (X), play (Y). How does that work?

A17: If a character is already affected by Condition (X), then you would replace (X) with (Y). For example, Sleep causes a character to become Staggered. If a character is already Staggered, and Sleep is played on him/her, then the character now becomes Helpless (Staggered is removed).

Two different characters with the same Power card can escalate the Bane. For example, player A uses Sleep to cause a minion to become Staggered. Player B, who also has Sleep, can use it to cause the same minion to become Helpless.

Q18: Can a character become afflicted by two different Banes?

A18: Yes. For example, if a character uses Sleep on a minion, the minion is now Staggered. The next character uses Knock'em Back on the same minion, causing him to become Prone. That minion is now Staggered AND Prone.

Q19: What happens if my character dies?

A19: Make a new one! It takes minutes to create a character. So if your current character dies, step away for a few minutes and make a new one. When you return, tell everyone a little about your character. Then allow your GM to introduce your character to the rest of the party. Now continue playing!

Q20: I'm aware by the everything I've read concerning the rules that you can only have x number of points in play, to include points held in reserve for the hot swap. What I'm wondering is what limit there is to the number of cards a player can have in hand that can be placed in play. Having so many rules lawyers as gaming buddies, I'm afraid this may be the beginning of a long series of questions on my part that they'll try to use to their advantage.

A20: An answer to your question is simple: it depends. Officially, there is no dictated limit. Some documents state that initially a limit of 25 cards is suggested, just to avoid overwhelm. Otherwise, it's the GM's call. The general Untold community is not nearly as rule-dictation-oriented as either edition of the World's Most Popular Role-Playing Game(tm). Play of the game and interpretation is much more 'loose'.

Q21: Why do "Title (Aid)" cards have a UP of 0? Are these meant to denote upon whom a character with the power has conferred benefits? Example cards: "Tactics" and "Tactics (Aid)" possess the same text. The same applies with "Armor of Oaze" and "Armor of Oaze (Aid)."

A21: Aid cards come in two "forms" - the Parent card (which costs UP) and the Children cards - which symbolize the Power that is transferred to another. So if your Character plays Armor of Oaze, they lay down the parent card and pay the UP. The next round, they can hand out a Armor of Oaze child card to another player, which they can put in their deck for zero UP, but they gain the benefits listed on the card. You can continue to do this as long as you wish (until you take Armor of Oaze out of play, or run out of child cards...)

Q22: So why do I have to login to make a purchase?

A22: First of all, we don't want you to just place an order from out of nowhere and then disappear back into the aether! There's more to Untold that simple purchases and deliveries! We're working hard to provide the best user experience and most friendly gaming community on the web, and we'd love for you to be a part of that! Creating a login will allow you to come back at any time and securely check on your order's journey through the process, get shipping updates, and give you the chance to participate in the Untold Community forum! There you can find all sorts of extra ideas and suggestions to make your Untold play as fun as it can possibly be, connect with other Untold Players and GM's all across the world, participate in site-specific contests, qualify for special Community-only discounts on future products and learn some ways to start earning some free Untold swag. Won't you join us?