Tempo
Also called: Action Tempo, Tick Cost
Definition: The time cost of an action, measured in Ticks. After acting, you advance your token on The Count by your action's Tempo. Fast actions (Tempo 2–3) let you act again sooner; slow actions (Tempo 6+) create gaps where enemies respond.
Tempo is the tactical currency of The Veil & Lead combat. Every action (drawing a weapon, firing a shot, casting a Talent, taking cover) has a Tempo value that determines how far it pushes you down the timeline.
After acting: Current Tick + Tempo = Your new position on The Count.
Common Tempo values:
| Action | Tempo |
|---|---|
| Speak / Drop / Free Reaction | 0 |
| Draw Weapon / Aim | 2 |
| Scramble / Take Cover / Stand Up | 3 |
| Steady Shot (Pistol) / Strike (Medium Melee) / Speed Reload | 4 |
| Steady Shot (Rifle) / Grapple | 5 |
| Recover / Manual Reload | 6 |
| Channel Rank 1 (Cantrip) | 4 |
| Channel Rank 2 (Tactic) | 5 |
| Channel Rank 3 (Power) | 6 |
| Channel Rank 4 (Devastation) | 7 |
| Channel Rank 5 (Miracle) | 9 |
The Tempo tradeoff is the heart of combat design: a fast revolver shooter can fire three times in the same window a heavy-weapons specialist needs to fire once. Most Fast Actions (Tempo 2–3) also trigger the Exposed condition: speed has a defensive cost.
Tempo can be a number or a string in stat blocks: numbers for fixed
Tempos, strings for special cases like "1 minute (ritual)",
"passive", or "Free Action". Reactions are Tempo 0.