Action Rolls (Part 1)#

An Action Roll represents a character taking a deliberate action, initiating a specific course of events to achieve something. The GM should only require one if something is at stake, or if an outcome is unclear.

Sometimes, a character may direct an Action Roll at another character or NPC. In this scenario, the character initiating the roll is called the Instigator, whereas the entity they are acting upon is called the Target.

Steps#

To perform an Action Roll, the player describes their objective and states the means by which they plan to achieve it. The GM may ask to clarify this, to ensure a clear understanding of the character’s intentions and methods.

For example, while both “casting a spell” and “casting a spell to impress a powerful sorcerer” may seem like identical tasks, their underlying intentions and expected outcomes differ significantly.

- Setup#

After the action is declared, the GM sets a Challenge, a Risk, and picks two relevant Abilities (in whichever order they want):

Challenge & Risk#

• Challenge gauges the general difficulty of the task, the amount of effort or skill required to succeed:

• Risk indicates potential danger or uncertainty, the likelihood of a complication (but not necessarily its severity). The greater the Risk, the lower the value :

All Action Rolls have a Challenge of 10 and a Risk of 3 by default. The GM may hide any of these values from players if needed.

Abilities#

Action Rolls always combine two Abilities, based on the specifics of the action. Here are some examples:

• “Swimming across a river” may require agility and endurance, as it involves the ability to swim through water and sustain prolonged physical effort.

• “Lockpicking a door” may require dexterity and reasoning, as it involves manual precision and analyzing components for potential vulnerabilities.

• “Duping someone” may require speech and ingenuity, as it involves being able to speak convincingly and coming up with a plausible lie.

• “Casting magic” may require knowledge and reasoning, as it involves learning spell runes, as well as understanding the techniques for using them.

• etc…

The player then picks two die for each Ability.

For instance, if a character wants to swim across a river, and they have d8 endurance and d4 agility, they pick 2d8 and 2d4. If they want to lockpick a door, and they have d6 dexterity and d6 reasoning, they pick 4d6 etc…

- Resolution#

Resolution involves two steps: a first throw followed by an optional Daring Throw, with players trying to maximize their Success Score while also minimizing Trouble Die:

• The player throws their four die.

• Results of 4 or more are added up to form the action’s Success Score. Results of 3 are ignored and results of 1 and 2 count as Trouble Die.

• The player can choose to end their action after the first throw, or proceed with a Daring Throw.

• Opting for the latter raises one of their character’s Emotion by one stage, and allows them to throw two additional die (one for each Ability).

After a Daring Throw, a player should have rolled six die. If not, they should have only rolled four.

Raising Emotional Strain#

As stated above, a character must raise an Emotion by one stage when attempting a Daring Throw. Which Emotion to pick is determined by context and the character’s general mindset when performing the action:

- Outcomes#

Outcomes depend on whether the Success Score matched or exceeded the action’s Challenge, and if the number of Trouble Die matched or exceeded the action’s Risk:

For example, if a character is trying to steal an item watched over by guards:

• Perfect Success : the character succeeds, they achieve their intended goal or result without suffering any consequences.

They manage to steal the item and remain undetected.

• Limited Success : the character succeeds but it comes at a cost. There’s a setback, a complication or the action isn’t as effective as anticipated.

They manage to steal the item but get detected by the guards.

• Controlled Failure : the character fails but there’s no consequence. The GM may allow them to try again (after some time, or with increased Risk) or decide that the opportunity slips away.

They fail at stealing the item but remain undetected.

• Total Failure : the character fails and there’s a consequence. A new threat appears, they lose control of the situation or suffer some form of harm.

They fail at stealing the item and get detected by the guards.

Consequences#

As stated above, if the number of Trouble Die met or exceeded Risk, the character must suffer a consequence. Based on the situation, this falls into one of four categories:

• Physical : consequence related to physical well-being, such as loss of Health, poisoning, disease or broken limbs.

• Material : consequence related to possessions or resources, such as loss or damage of equipment or valuables.

• Narrative : plot-related consequence, such as complications or setbacks that impact the situation or scenario.

• Social : consequence pertaining to social interactions, such as damaged reputation or loss of amity from people.

Critical Outcomes#

An Action Roll may also result in a critical success or failure:

• A Critical Success happens when the Success Score exceeds the action’s Challenge by 10 points or more. This counts as a perfect success with extra bonus or advantage.

• A Critical Failure happens when the player scores 2 Trouble Die or more over the action’s Risk. This counts as a total failure with a more severe consequence.

If a character scores both a Critical Success and a Critical Failure on the same roll, the effects cancel each other out. The action results in a limited success instead.

- Experience#

If the first throw failed to meet the action’s Challenge, and the player opted for a Daring Throw, they mark one XP for one of the two Abilities used. They choose which Ability to mark, provided it is neither maxed-out nor crippled.

This can be done regardless of the action’s final outcome.

Example#

Finn wants to pick the lock of a chest to steal valuable items. The GM decides that this action requires dexterity and reasoning, with a Challenge of 15 (it’s a difficult lock) and a Risk of 3 (guards are patrolling the area, it’s a risky move).

• The player rolls 2d8 and 2d4 (based on Finn’s d8 dexterity and d4 reasoning).

• They get results of 8, 2, 3 and 2. 8 counts towards their Success Score, both 2s count as Trouble Die and 3 is ignored.

• Finn has a Success Score of 8 (not enough to succeed) and 2 Trouble Die (not enough to alert the guards), thus the player can choose to end on a controlled failure. But they decide to push their luck with a Daring Throw.

• After raising their fear by one stage (Finn is scared of being caught), they roll another two die (1d8 and 1d4) and get results of 7 and 1. 7 is added to the total Success Score (now 15), and 1 counts as another Trouble Die (now 3).

• Since the Success Score matched the Challenge, and the total number of Trouble Die matched the Risk, the action ends in a limited success. The GM tells the player that Finn succeeded at picking the lock, but a guard heard them and is now walking towards their location.

• Because they chose to perform a Daring Throw (after the first throw failed to meet its Challenge), they also mark one segment to their dexterity XP track.