Break of Dawn

Break of Dawn (BOD) is a tabletop RPG about life in an ancient world. From the personal struggles of faith, survival and purpose, to the complex social relations within societies, to the codependency and animosity between nations.

Break of Dawn features three layers to a character. The physical layer, which includes its physical characteristics, competency, social status and connections.
The Inner Power layer, which covers the inner powers as well as the inner demons the character may develop. The Faith layer which includes the character’s beliefs, ideals and devotions.

Break of Dawn gives maximal agency to the players based on their choices. Characters making the right choices can rise in the social ladder, gaining authority and wealth, or creating connections with individuals with social influence.
Taking the great risks of going down the levels of The Great Maze, and surviving them, can give characters Inner Powers or Items of Power.
Making true sacrifices and living lives of virtue can endow characters with Sacred Powers or Sacred Items of great might and opening them to the insights of The Dream World.

On the other side of the coin, the world of Break of Dawn is brutal.
For example, travelling is not trivial, weather and lack of resources are serious factors, not to mention risks of human origin. Some journeys can take months and maps are many times unreliable in the ancient world.
That being said, Break of Dawn features a Time Lapse system which allows moving through great periods of time briefly (from hours to years), if the players and storyteller wishes for it, finding out important results and changes in the Time Lapse period through dice roll. Thus allowing skipping to moments in the story they wish to focus on, and allowing a progression of story and characters sometimes hard to accomplish in roleplaying.
Perhaps it is a good place to explain every morning there is a Time Lapse, in which each player rolls for developments in their character’s lives (from minor ones like waking up with a cold to major ones like a messenger from the king arriving later that day). The storyteller rolls as well, for changes happening in the world. Thus, the story moves forward every morning. That is one of the origins of the name: Break of Dawn.

Society can be brutal, specifically to those opposing its ideals or interests, being a member of a certain faction in a society is a significant choice, this gap can be even more significant between different nations.
There are no humanoid races as in many roleplaying games. One of the major difference between characters is the Nation they originate from. Nations differ greatly from one another, from culture and manners, to physical appearance, to factions and Traditions that populate it, to the Inner Power affinity of that nation.
Conflict and tension between nations is one of the core axes the world of Break of Dawn revolves around.

Speaking of conflict. Combat is brutal. Actions in combat take a toll on your stamina, injuries are common and a serious one can have permanent consequences, death is a real possibility. Healing exists, but it is rare and\or expensive.
The weapons you use are crucial, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
BOD is a one roll system in which initiative, attack and damage is decided by a single roll. Each action in a round of combat is happening simultaneously, there is no: I move and attack, then you move and attack. Movement and position are one of the contested elements of combat.