Rolls #

Whenever your character attempts something with a significant chance of failure, the GM may call for a roll. Rolls have the following steps.

1. Set Base Stat and Difficulty. The GM sets a relevant base stat from the stat list (for example, Agility to cross a rickety bridge) and a difficulty, usually from 10 (easy) to 20 (impossible).

2. Add Bonuses. Create your die modifier (ranging from +0 to +18) by adding up the bonuses on your character sheet from the following sources. The total is your modifier. For example, 6◆ results in a modifier of +6.

   • You must add bonus from the roll’s base stat, which range from 1◆ to 5◆.
   • You must add bonus from the stress track, which range from 1◆ to 3◆.
   • You can optionally use up to one tag relevant to add its bonus, which range from 1◆ to 5◆. You can alternatively exhaust a tag irrelevant to the attempt to gain its bonus, but at a -1◆ penalty.

3. Roll. Roll a 20-sided die and add your modifier, resulting in one of the following outcomes. Critical outcomes take priority over non-critical outcomes.

   • If you roll a natural 20, your outcome is a critical success.
   • If you roll a natural 1, your outcome is a critical failure.
   • If the total value rolled is greater to or equal than the difficulty, your outcome is a success.
   • If the total value rolled is less than the difficulty, your outcome is a failure.

4. Double Down. Optionally, choose whether to double down. If you double down, roll the same die again, add the same modifier, and compare it to the same difficulty. If you succeed your second roll, your original outcome increases by one tier on the Outcomes table (for example, from a success to a critical success). If you roll a natural 20, it instead increases by two tiers. If you fail your second roll, it decreases by one tier. If you roll a natural 1, it instead decreases by two tiers.

5. Calculate Boons and Banes. With your final outcome, the GM refers to the Outcomes Table to determine whether you earned boons or incurred banes, keeping note of any multiplier the outcome may list. If the outcome results in boons or banes, the GM then refers to the Difficulty Table to see how many, multiplying the total by the multiplier in the Outcomes table.

   • If your roll resulted in boons, spend them in the Boons Table.
   • If your roll resulted in banes, the GM spends them in the Banes Table.

6. Exhaust Tag. If your outcome is any tier of success, exhaust the tag you used, if any. To exhaust a tag, fill in the checkbox next to it on your character sheet. After exhausting a tag, you cannot use it again until you recover it through boons or rest.

Support Rolls #

If a player’s roll exclusively aims to gain benefits from the Boons table, such as when attempting to heal an ally, then that roll becomes a support roll. In a support roll, the player gains half boons (0.5x) on a success. For example, succeeding at a support roll with a difficulty of 16 gives you 3 boons instead of 6.

When determining support roll difficulty, a good baseline is 10 plus the amount of stress the target has taken, but the GM can ultimately set the difficulty of their choice based on other circumstances.

Group Rolls #

If one or more characters collaborate on an attempt, the roll becomes a group roll. One of the group roll’s participants of their choice becomes the roller and rolls the D20 for the group. The roll’s modifier is still formed by the bonuses of up to one stat, one tag, and one stress track. However, these sources can come from any participant.

For example, if players are collaborating to lift a heavy object, then one character can contribute a bonus from their Toughness (5◆) stat, another a bonus from their Four Arms (4◆) tag, and another a bonus from their stress track (2◆) for a total modifier of +15.

The group votes on whether to double down, with the roller breaking ties.

Contested Rolls #

If a player makes an attempt against another player, such as when trying to pickpocket them or tell if they are lying, the GM first offers the target player a choice. The target player can either allow the attempting player to automatically succeed, make them automatically fail, or let them roll to leave it up to chance.

If the target rolls, then both players simultaneously choose whether or not to expend a tag and then roll. The player who rolls higher results in a Success, while the player who rolls lower results in a Failure. Rolling a 1 or a 20 does not result in a critical outcome.

The player who rolls lowest can then optionally double down, using the higher roll as the difficulty. If they turn their failure into any tier of success, the higher roller’s outcome turns into a failure.

Then, each player receives boons or banes using the other player’s roll as the difficulty.

The GM can also use contested rolls when players make attempts against non-player characters and vice versa, following Combat rules.

Example Roll #

The following is a full example of a roll:

1. If a character attempts to cross a precarious bridge, the GM may call for an Agility roll with a difficulty of 14.
2. The player has 3◆ in Agility. They decide to exhaust the Rogue tag to add its bonus of 2◆ to the roll as well. The player has added 5◆ to the roll, which totals to a modifier of +5.
3. The player rolls a D20 and gets a 6, which added to the modifier of +5 results in 11: a failure.
4. The player chooses to double down. They roll again and get a natural 20: a critical success. The original failure is upgraded two tiers to a critical success.
5. The critical success results in four boons and the player can spend that amount on any of the effects from the Boons table. For example, with the four boons, they may recover two tags.
6. Since the player succeeded, they exhaust their tag.