When there is significant uncertainty in the Outcomes of an Action, a Check is made.
A Check will determine how well the Character Performs the Action and whether they Fail, Succeed Partially or Succeed Fantastically.
If the Action is guaranteed to Succeed or Fail, do not make a Check, just describe what happens! But if a Check is required follow these 4 Steps:
1: Define the Check
The GM decides and informs the Players of:
- The Check Type (Skill, Attack, Effect or Luck)
- Difficulty Class (DC)
- Outcomes
2: Roll the Dice
The Player rolls one or more twenty sided dice (d20s).
If a Check has one or more “Advantages”, roll an additional d20 for each Advantage and use the Highest Value.
Similarly if a Check has one or more “Disadvantages”, roll an additional d20 for each Disadvantage and use the Lowest Value.
If a Check has both Advantages and Disadvantages, the additional d20 cancel out.
For Example, a Check with two Advantages and one Disadvantage would require only one Additional d20 be rolled and would use the Highest Value.
There is no limit to how many Advantages and Disadvantages a Check can accumulate.
3: Result
Bonuses applicable to that Check are added to the value of the d20 to determine the Result. Usually this will just be one of the Character’s Five Abilities: FIGHT, FINESSE, FLAIR, FOCUS or FLIGHT.
If the Result does not meet or beat the Difficulty Class the Check is a Fail. The Action Fails and a Negative Outcome will occur!
If it meets or beats the Difficulty Class the Check is a Success. The Action Succeeds and a Positive Outcome will occur!
If the d20 value used is a “20” (also called a “Natural 20”) the Result is automatically a Fantastic Success and may grant other benefits!
4: Is it Fantastic?
For a Successful Ability or Attack, determine whether it was a Partial or Fantastic Success.
If the Result meets or beats the Difficulty Class, but not the Difficulty Class + 10, the Check is a Partial Success.
The Action Succeeds, but a Minor Detriment occurs.
If the Result meets or beats the Difficulty Class + 10, it is a Fantastic Success.
The Result is not only better, but also Fantastical in nature!
The Action Succeeds, and a Minor Benefit occurs.
Example Check
A Player describes how their Character attempts to force open a locked door.
The GM decides that this is an Skill Check, where the Player can add the Character’s Fitness (a Fitness Check).
Because it is a Skill Check, they decide the DC of the Check themselves. They decide the DC is a 10.
The Player then rolls a d20. The value rolled is a “9” and then adds their Might Bonus (a +3) to the Check. This means that the Result is a 12, which is high enough to Partially Succeed.
As the Check was a Success, the Character Succeeds in forcing open the Door.
However because it was only a Partial Success the Player decides on a Detriment. They suggest to the GM that it took significant time and effort to open the door, and the resulting noise drew the unwanted attention of some nearby guards! The GM agrees and the Scene continues with this
If the Player had rolled a 17 or higher, it would have resulted in a Fantastic Success. In that case the Door could have been forced open quickly and noiselessly, and the Character would have been able to proceed without further complications. As a Benefit the Player could suggest the Door does not appear to have been forced open, so no one is likely to investigate the room for some time.
Skill Checks
Skill Checks are the most common Type of Check.
They reflect how a Character’s experience and abilities are used to perform an Action.
Difficulty Class (DC)
The GM decides the DC depending on how Challenging the Action is.
| Skill DC | Challenge |
|---|---|
| 5 | Normal |
| 10 | Challenging |
| 15 | Very Challenging |
| 20 | Extremely Challenging |
| 25+ | Almost Impossible |
Keep in mind this is the DC to Partially Succeed only.
If a Skill Check is used against a Character, the Difficulty Class is instead decided using an Opposed Check.
Outcomes
If a Skill Check Succeeds, the Action has a Positive Outcome. If it Fails, the desired Outcome does not occurs and something negative should occur.
Note that there should never be a “nothing happens” Outcome. In cases where there would be no immediate negative effect, the Player chooses a Detriment as though they had a Partial Success (see Partial Success).
Result
The GM decides which Abilities the Player can add to the Check before the Check is made.
FIGHT may be used when exerting significant physical force or effort.
FINESSE may be added when significant physical care, precision or dexterity is required.
FLAIR may be used when a attempting to influence the behaviour of others or using creative expression.
FOCUS may be used when attempting to gain more information or recall information.
FLIGHT may be used when determining how quickly a Character can move and their ability to evade harm.
If multiple Ability Bonuses could be used, the Player may choose to use only one of their Bonuses (usually the highest Bonus available).
If a Character has a Talent or Specialism which they could use for the Check, the Check has Advantage.
Talents are broadly defined sets of experiences the Character has. They include Athletics, Creativity, Lore, Medicine, Social, Survival, Technology and Trickery.
Specialisms are specific scenarios or forms of language which the Character has significant experience in using.
A Character can only benefit from up to one Talent and one Specialism for a given Check. If multiple Talents or Specialisms could be applied to a Check, the Player chooses which ones to use.
In some cases a Character may wish to use a Tool they have experience in. Tools include both tools for crafting and interacting with Objects (e.g. a set of lockpicks) as well as Weapons.
Using a Tool you lack experience with as part of a Skill Check will cause the Check to have Disadvantage. Using a Tool you have experience with will negate this Disadvantage.
Partial Success
On a Partial Success the Player will choose one of three Detriments to occur:
- The Character gains a Stress Point
- The GM gains a Tension Point
- A Complication of their suggestion
Stress is discussed further on the Stress Page.
Tension is discussed further on the Momentum and Tension Page.
If a Complication is suggested, the GM has discretion to decide whether the it is too severe or not severe enough, and may recommend a change to it.
Fantastic Success
On a Fantastic Success the Player choose one of three Benefits to occur:
- The Character loses a Stress Point
- The Player gains a Momentum Point
- A Boon of their suggestion
Momentum is discussed further on the Momentum and Tension Page.
If a Boon is suggested, the GM has discretion to decide whether it is too beneficial or not beneficial enough, and may recommend a change to it.
Critical Success
On a Critical Success, the Action is a Fantastic Success irrespective of the Result.
In addition to any Benefits added to the Check, the Player who made the Check would gain one Momentum or Tension Point.
Opposed Checks
If a Skill Check is made against a Character, the Skill Check is likely to be Opposed by them.
In such cases both the Target Character and the Active Character must make an Skill Check.
The Result rolled by the Target of the Check will represent the DC of the Check and will not cause Benefits or Detriments to occur.
GM Checks
If the Character which initiates the Check is controlled by the GM the Outcome is Binary: the Outcomes are only Fail or Success and do not cause Benefits or Detriments to occur.
Attack Checks
An Attack Check is the second most common Check in the Game.
It is used when a Character is attempting to Harm another Character.
Difficulty Class
The DC to Succeed or Fail on an Attack Check (i.e. Hit or Miss) is determined by the Target’s Evasion DC:
EVASION DC:
5 + FINESSE + FLAIR.
A Character wearing Armor may have a Lower Evasion DC. See the Armor Page for more.
During an Action Scene a Character can add their FINESSE to their Evasion DC by using the Dodge Action.
Outcomes
If the Result meets or beats the Evasion DC, the Character is Hit and may be Damaged by the Attack.
Otherwise the Attack is a Miss and the Target can potentially Counter the Attack.
Result
The Ability Bonus which can be added to an Attack depends upon what was used to make the Attack.
Attacks with Heavy Melee Weapons use a Character’s FIGHT. Heavy Weapons tend to cause more Damage!
Attacks with Light Melee Weapons use their FINESSE. Light Weapons tend to be more accurate!
Unarmed Attacks and Attacks with Medium Melee Weapons can use either their FIGHT or FINESSE. Medium Weapons are well-balanced!
Attacks with Ranged Weapons and Spell Foci use a Character’s FOCUS. Ranged Weapons and Spell Foci can be used to Attack at a Distance!
To use a Weapon effectively as part of an Attack Check a Character must have Experience with that Weapon.
Having Experience in a Weapon does not grant a Character Advantage on Attack Checks with that Weapon, but lacking it will grant them Disadvantage.
All Characters are considered Experienced with Unarmed Attacks.
Weapon Types include: Axes, Bows, Clubs, Daggers, Guns, Improvised, Polearms, Shields, Swords and Whips.
Most Weapons can only be used to Attack an an Adjacent Character only.
Some Weapons (Ranged Weapons and Melee Weapons with the Thrown Property) allow a Character to hit Targets at a Distance. A Character will have Disadvantage on such Attacks if they are Threatened. (i.e. there is a dangerous Threat Adjacent to them).
Further rules affecting Attack Checks are covered on the Weapons Page.
Damage
Each Weapon has a Damage Rating (DR). This represents how lethal an Attack with it is.
Unarmed Attacks have a Damage Rating of 1.
On a Partial Success (called a Glancing Hit) the Attack will cause Damage equal to the Weapons Damage Rating.
On a Fantastic Success (a Direct Hit) the Attack will cause Damage equal to twice the Weapons Damage Rating and ignores a Character’s Defense (see below).
Each time a Character takes Damage, add the Damage taken to the total they have already accumulated.
When a Character Rests they remove all Damage they have accumulated.
Defense
The Target of an Attack may have a Defense.
This represents their ability to ignore small amounts of Damage.
A Characters Defense is typically equal to their FIGHT.
A Character wearing Armor and/or a Shield may have a Higher Defense. See the Armor Page for more.
When a Character takes Damage from any source of Damage, it can be reduced by an amount equal to the Characters Block (up to a minimum of Zero Damage).
If the Damage of a Successful Attack is reduced entirely or partly by a Character’s Defense it is considered to be Blocked.
The Damage of a Direct Hit from an Attack ignores a Characters Defense.
Hit Points
A Character has a number of Hit Points equal to the total of all of their Ability Bonuses.
For Example, a Character beginning with a Ability Bonuses of 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 will have a Total of 15 Hit Points.
Hit Points represents how much Damage a Character can take before the Damage causes lasting harm to them.
Damage in excess of your Hit Points becomes Stress Points. See the Stress Page for more.
Critical Hit
On a Critical Success, the Attack is a Direct Hit irrespective of the Result. It is also called a Critical Hit.
In addition to the Attack succeeding the Player will gain one Momentum or Tension Point.
The Player can choose to forgo this benefit to instead make an Extra Attack against the same Target.
Counters
If an Attack Misses a Character, they can make an Attack back provided they have a Weapon which can Reach the Attacker.
For example, you cannot Attack a Character who Misses you with a Ranged Attack from a distance with an Unarmed Attack,
Similarly, a Weapon with Reach cannot be countered by a Weapon without Reach.
Take care though, as a Counter can also be Countered!
Other Checks
Effect Checks
An Effect Check is required whenever a Character attempts to avoid or mitigate the harm of an Effect.
Effects tend to occur in addition to another Check, or may Target Multiple Characters. Due to this, they only have a binary outcome, Success or Fail.
Difficulty Class
If an Effect is caused by a Character, the DC is always determined by one of their Five Abilities (FIGHT, FINESSE, FLAIR, FOCUS or FLIGHT) added to 10.
For Example. a Character’s FIGHT DC would be 10 added to their FIGHT.
If the Effect is not caused by a Character and the DC is not otherwise described, the GM decides the DC depending upon how Challenging it will be to avoid or resist.
| Effect DC | Challenge |
|---|---|
| 5 | Easy |
| 10 | Normal |
| 15 | Challenging |
| 20 | Very Challenging |
| 25 | Extremely Challenging |
| 30+ | Almost Impossible |
Attack DC
If an Effect occurs as part of an Attack which a Character has made, it is likely to refer to their Attack DC.
The Attack DC is 10 + the Ability which was used as part of the Attack Check. If multiple Abilities were added to the Attack, you can choose which Ability is used to determine the Attack DC.
Spell DC
If an Effect occurs as a result of a Character using a Spell, the DC is determined by adding 10 to either their FLAIR or their FOCUS (choose the highest of the two).
Outcomes
Effect Checks have only two Outcomes, Success or Fail.
On a Fail the Character is affected by the Effect as described.
On a Success the Character will either completely avoid the Effect or the Effect will be mitigated.
Result
The Effect will determine which of the Character’s abilities may be added to the d20 Result.
For example, a FIGHT Effect would allow a Character to add their FIGHT to the Check.
Lucky Escape
A Critical Success will allow a Character to Succeed on the Check irrespective of the Results, and mitigate all of the ill-effects of the Effect.
This is known as a Lucky Escape.
Luck Checks
A Luck Check is required where the Outcome of the situation is entirely out of the hands of the Characters.
It is often used to quickly determine whether an Object is in the environment or not, the weather, or the occurrence of fortunate or unfortunate events which may arise in the game.
Difficulty Class
The GM decides the DC depending upon how likely a Luck Check is to Succeed (i.e. the Chance).
Alternatively a Luck Check may be used to determine how favourable the situation is (e.g. how good is the weather). In such cases the Result may be compared to Multiple DCs to determine the favourability.
| Luck DC | Chance and Favourability |
|---|---|
| 0 | Guaranteed and Very Unfavourable |
| 5 | Likely and Unfavourable |
| 10 | Even Odds and Neutral |
| 15 | Unlikely and Favourable |
| 20 | Very Unlikely and Highly Favourable |
Outcomes
On a Failed Check, the Outcome the Character was hoping for does not come to pass. On a Success, it does!
If determining the Favourability, the Favourability of the situation is established by how high the Luck Check was.
Like Effect Checks, there are no additional Benefits or Detriments associated with a Partial or Fantastic Success.
Lucky Break
A Critical Success is considered a Lucky Break, irrespective of the Check’s Result. If the Luck Check was used to determine the Favourability, it is as Favourable as possible!
This is called a Lucky Break.
In addition to the Character’s good luck, the Player who rolled gains 1 Momentum or Tension Point.
Feeling Lucky?
Very few effects in the game can affect the roll of a Luck Check. One of the few exceptions occurs if a Character has an Aspect describing them as “Lucky”.
If a Character is Lucky, a Player can expend a Momentum or Tension point to roll a Luck Check they make with Advantage or to reroll the Result of a Luck Check. However, unlike other Aspects, Lucky cannot be used to influence any other Checks!