Conviction is a special award granted when a character experiences a great victory or catastrophic misfortune. If possible, use a themed token to note the award; maybe a Marshal’s Badge for Deadlands, a Benny of a different color, a toy doubloon for 50 Fathoms, and so on.

Conviction can be spent to add a d6 to all a character’s Trait and damage totals until the beginning of her next turn. This die can Ace, and its result is added to the final total.

Conviction tokens aren’t Bennies and can’t be used as such. They are kept between sessions, however.

A character may maintain Conviction from round to round by spending a Benny (at the start of his turn, before it runs out). Once Conviction lapses, however, the effect ends.

Conviction is granted for personal triumph and tragedy, drawing on a character’s entire background, including—but not limited to— his Edges and Hindrances.

Savage settings may also grant Conviction for certain world-specific actions or events.

Characters gain Conviction when they overcome significant obstacles core to their overall goals and motivations. This might mean defeating powerful enemies, saving a true love, or overcoming some great mystery or problem.

The victory should be an achievement over and above the usual. A vampire hunter in Rippers shouldn’t get Conviction every time he kills a vampire, for example, but he might when he wipes out an entire coven or slays a powerful master vamp ire. A super hero might gain Conviction when she saves her true love from a death trap or the clutches of a powerful villain. She wouldn’t earn it just because her boyfriend is in a dangerous encounter.

Some of the most interesting heroes of fiction, film, and legend spend as much time battling their personal demons as they do fighting their foes. Eventually these same issues give them strength as they work through their grief or overcome obstacles to rise once more against the challenges they face.

When a character experiences a significant personal loss or destructive event, and the GM feels it’s appropriate, he gains Conviction. The death of a loved one or close friend (including a party member he was close to), losing an important job, giving in to harmful character flaws and vices, being removed from a case or quest, or getting framed for a crime are all classic examples of heroic tragedy.

These might happen in the course of the game, but players should also proactively suggest their own ideas to the Game Master. Consider your hero’s backstory and occasionally look for ways to do what your favorite authors do to their characters—torture them! Think about what’s important to them and threaten it or take it away. Most of the time this should be done as a quick narrative tale or a scene with a little interaction and roleplaying so as not to distract from the main campaign or the other players’ time, but occasionally it might inspire a side-trek or adventure to regain—or avenge!—whatever was lost.

Note that earning Conviction for harmful behavior is motivation for players in a game to occasionally spotlight their character’s dark side. It is not an endorsement or rationalization of poor conduct in the real world.

Emily is Red, a fighter in a fantasy campaign. She has “anger management issues” but didn’t take the Mean Hindrance because she’s had her problem under control for a year or so. But it’s a fun part of her backstory and Emily loves roleplaying constantly managing her character’s temper.

Unfortunately, Red and her constant ally Gabe failed in their last adventure. Emily decides this is a good time for Red to go on a rampage. She narrates a story about going into town and terrorizing everyone in sight with her surly attitude. During the course of a “bad day,” she breaks a window, turns over an apple cart, and even insults a friar’s mule!

The GM loves Emily’s story and awards her a point of Conviction. In the game, Red is barred from the local tavern, has to pay for all the damage she caused, and is refused help by the friar (the town’s only healer!) until she performs some act of penance (a new quest!) More importantly, Emily told a story about her heroine’s tragic flaw—and has a point of Conviction to carry her through the next chapter of her quest.