SYSTEM-NEUTRAL PROCEDURE

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Mar de Oro System-Neutral Adaptation Reference

A two-page working reference. Page one gathers the ladder and its vocabulary. Page two gathers the four checklists and the calibration questions.

Page 1: Ladder and vocabulary

The Six-Step Adaptation Ladder

  1. 1. Fictional Role. What is this element meant to do in the story and at the table?
  2. 2. Capability. How reliably and effectively can it perform its defining actions?
  3. 3. Scale. At what level does it operate: Personal, Crew, Vessel, Faction, or Regional?
  4. 4. Pressure. What problem, risk, or difficult choice does it create?
  5. 5. Consequences. What can change, worsen, be lost, or become newly possible?
  6. 6. Mechanical Expression. Which rules in the chosen system best reproduce the previous five elements?

Capability ranks

  • Familiar
  • Trained
  • Expert
  • Master

Scale

  • Personal
  • Crew
  • Vessel
  • Faction
  • Regional

Pressure

  • Time
  • Resource
  • Social
  • Political
  • Environmental
  • Operational
  • Moral

Consequences

  • Harm
  • Exposure
  • Delay
  • Resource loss
  • Escalation
  • Political cost
  • Changed relationships
  • Lost opportunity
  • New obligation

Page 2: Checklists

Character conversion checklist

  • Fictional role in one sentence
  • Background and training
  • Two or three capabilities with ranks
  • One Bond
  • One Burden
  • Resources and authority
  • Vulnerabilities
  • Crew function

Threat conversion checklist

  • What does it want?
  • What can it do?
  • What makes it dangerous?
  • What pressure does it create?
  • What warning signs appear first?
  • What happens if nobody intervenes?
  • What changes if it is defeated, exposed, negotiated with, or ignored?

Vessel conversion checklist

  • Scale and class
  • Crew competence and command cohesion
  • Position, range, weather, visibility
  • Structural stress and lift stability
  • Ammunition, fire, Éterlumin reserves
  • Boarding risk and escape routes

Faction conversion checklist

  • Reach
  • Resources
  • Authority
  • Internal divisions
  • Current objective
  • Methods
  • Public reputation
  • Hidden vulnerability
  • Escalation path

Final calibration questions

  • Does the result preserve the original fictional role?
  • Is the scale appropriate?
  • Does it create the intended pressure?
  • Are the consequences meaningful?
  • Have system-specific assumptions accidentally changed the setting?