====== GURPS Core Resources: Success Rolls ======


Whenever a character attempts to perform an action (e.g., use a skill), roll three dice to determine the outcome. This is called a success roll. The task in question succeeds if the total rolled on the dice is less than or equal to the number that governs the action – most often a skill or an attribute. Otherwise, it fails. 

Example: If you attempt to pick a lock with a Lockpicking skill of 9, you must roll 9 or less on 3d to succeed. On a roll of 10 or more, you fail.

Regardless of the score you are rolling against, a roll of 3 or 4 is always a success, while a roll of 17 or 18 is always a failure. In general, the player makes the die rolls for his character’s actions. However, the GM may always choose to roll the dice in secret – see When the GM Rolls (p. 344).

===== WHEN TO ROLL =====

To avoid bogging down the game in endless die rolls, the GM should only require a success roll if there is a chance of meaningful failure or gainful success. In particular, the GM should require success rolls when...

• A PC’s health, wealth, friends, reputation, or equipment are
at risk. This includes chases, combat (even if the target is stationary
and at point-blank range!), espionage, thievery, and similar “adventuring”
activities.

• A PC stands to gain allies, information, new abilities, social standing,
or wealth.

The GM should not require rolls for...

• Utterly trivial tasks, such as crossing the street, driving into town, feeding the dog, finding the corner store, or turning on the computer.

• Daily work at a mundane, nonadventuring job. (To evaluate job performance, make monthly “job rolls”; see Jobs, p. 516.)

==== When the GM Rolls ====
There are two sets of circumstances under which the GM should roll for a PC and not let the player see the results:

1. When the character wouldn’t know for sure whether he had succeeded. This is true of all rolls to gain information, whether through skills such as Detect Lies, Interrogation, Meteorology, and Search, advantages like Intuition and Oracle, or supernatural divinatory abilities. In this situation, the player declares that he is using his ability and the GM rolls in secret. On a success, the GM gives the player true information – the lower the roll, the better the information. On a failure, the GM either gives no information at all or lies (the higher the roll, the more severe the lie), as appropriate.

2. When the player shouldn’t know what’s going on. This includes most Sense rolls, rolls to use Danger Sense, etc. Suppose the party is walking along a jungle trail. A jaguar is on a limb ahead. The GM should not say, “There’s a jaguar ahead of you. Roll to see if you notice it.” Neither should he say, “Everybody make a Vision roll. Does anybody have Danger Sense?” Either of these approaches gives too much away. Instead, the GM should roll for each character in secret. If anyone succeeds, the GM can say, “You notice a jaguar on a branch 20 yards ahead!” If nobody succeeds... they’re in for a surprise.

==== Default Rolls ====

When a task calls for a skill roll, you must have some ability with the required skill in order to attempt the task. Ideally, you want points in that skill . . . but an untrained person can take a stab at most tasks. For instance, anyone can swing a sword – although only a trained warrior is likely to have much success at it.

A skill that anyone can attempt without study is said to “default” to an attribute or another skill. This means you can attempt the desired action by rolling against one of your attributes or other skills at a penalty. This “default roll” is just an ordinary success roll.

Example: Lockpicking skill defaults to “IQ-5”; that is, anyone can open a lock, without training, by making a success roll against 5 less than his IQ. If your IQ is 10, you can open an ordinary lock on a roll of 5 or less on 3d. The smarter you are, the better your chances – but training is always preferable!

The description of each skill shows what skills or attributes it defaults to, and at what penalties. If a skill offers multiple defaults, always choose the best one.

Example: Interrogation defaults to “IQ-5, Intimidation-3, or Psychology-4.” If you’re not a trained interrogator, you can still get answers out of a prisoner by outthinking him (IQ-5), frightening him
(Intimidation-3), or playing “mind games” with him (Psychology-4). If you had IQ 12, Intimidation at 14, and Psychology at 13, your defaults would be 7, 11, and 9, respectively. Roll against 11, the highest of the three.

=== The Rule of 20 ===

If you have a basic attribute over 20, treat it as 20 for default purposes.
For instance, if you have IQ 25, your default Lockpicking skill
(IQ-5) is 15 – not 20. No such limit applies to defaults to other skills.

=== No Default ===

Some actions are impossible without training. Skills like Alchemy, Karate, and magic spells have no default. If you lack the proper training, you can’t attempt these things at all.

===== MODIFIERS =====
The rules often specify modifiers for certain success rolls. These bonuses and penalties affect the number you are rolling against – your “target number” – and not the total rolled on the dice. Bonuses always improve your odds, while penalties always reduce them. For instance, the Lockpicking skill description states, “-5 if working by touch (e.g., in total darkness).” This means that if you are working in the dark, you must subtract 5 from your Lockpicking skill for that attempt. If your Lockpicking skill is 9, you roll against 9 minus 5, or 4, in the dark.

A specific scenario might provide modifiers to allow for the relative ease or difficulty of a particular situation. For instance, an adventure might state that a lock is +10 to open due to the
fact that it is primitive and clumsy. If your Lockpicking skill were 9, you would roll against 9 + 10, or 19. Since the highest roll possible on 3d is 18, it would seem that success is assured. This is almost true, but not quite – see Critical Failure (p. 348).

Modifiers are cumulative unless stated otherwise. For instance, if you tried to open that primitive lock in the dark, both modifiers would apply, and you would roll against 9 - 5 + 10, or 14.
See Culture (p. 23), Language (p. 23), Tech-Level Modifiers (p. 168), Familiarity (p. 169), Equipment Modifiers (p. 345), and Task Difficulty (p. 345) for discussions of common modifiers. 

==== Base Skill vs. Effective Skill ====

Your base skill is your actual level in a skill, as recorded on your character sheet. Your effective skill for a particular task is your base skill plus or minus any modifiers for that task. In
the Lockpicking examples above, base skill is 9 in all cases, while effective skill is 4, 19, and 14 in three different situations.

The terms “base skill” and “effective skill” apply to all success rolls, not just to skill rolls. When you make an attribute roll, defense roll (p. 374), self-control roll (p. 120), etc., your
base skill is your unmodified score, while your effective skill is your final, modified target number. You may not attempt a success roll if your effective skill is less than 3, unless you are attempting a defense roll (p. 374).

==== Equipment Modifiers ====
The quality of your equipment modifies your skill rolls for tasks that normally require equipment:
No equipment: -10 for technological skills, -5 for
other skills. Note that many skills cannot be used at all
without equipment!

Improvised equipment: -5 for technological skills, -2
for other skills.

Basic equipment: No modifier. This is the case most of the time.

Good-quality equipment: +1. Costs about 5x basic price.

Fine-quality equipment: +2. Costs about 20x basic price.

Best equipment possible at your TL: +TL/2, round down (minimum +2). Costs 100x basic price or more, depending on availability.

If you have “basic” or better equipment that is not in perfect condition, the following modifiers apply in
addition to quality modifiers:

Missing important items: -1 per item.

Damaged equipment: -1 to -3.

Equipment modifiers reflect the quality of:

  * Special “tools of the trade,” for criminal, military, and espionage skills such as Disguise, Explosives,
Forgery, Forward Observer, Holdout, and Lockpicking.
  * The contents of your backpack, for outdoor skills like Fishing and Survival.
  * Your instruments or lab, for scientific and medical skills such as Alchemy, Diagnosis, Meteorology, Navigation, and Surgery.
  * Your shop or toolkit, for Armoury, Carpentry, Electrician, Electronics Repair, Engineer, Machinist, Masonry, Mechanic, Smith, and other skills used to build or repair things.
  * Your studio, for artistic skills – Artist, Jeweler, Photography, etc.

Example: For First Aid skill, “improvised” might
mean leaves and clean mud; “basic,” sterile bandages;
“good,” a standard first-aid kit; “fine,” a crash kit
(found in most ambulances); and “best,” an entire hospital.
Missing antiseptic would give -1, while a first-aid
kit salvaged from a wrecked vehicle might give -1 or
worse for damaged equipment.

=== Task Difficulty ===

If the GM feels that a success roll
should be easier or harder in a particular
situation, he may assess a difficulty
modifier. This is separate from modifiers
for the culture, equipment, language,
tech level, etc. of the person
attempting the task, in that it applies
to anyone who attempts the task. It is
cumulative with all other modifiers.
For instance, if the GM rules that
the only way to sway a particular audience
is to make a Public Speaking roll
at -2, the difficulty modifier is -2. Any
speaker has -2, in addition to personal
modifiers (for culture, language,
Voice, etc.), when dealing with that
audience.

Many skills suggest difficulty modifiers
– e.g., the -5 to use Lockpicking
skill by touch – but the possible variety
of tasks is essentially i
nfinite. Here are some guidelines for GMs:

+10 – Automatic. Tasks so trivial that
the GM should waive the need for a
success roll, except under extraordinary
circumstances. Example: A
Driving roll to start a car.

+8 or +9 – Trivial. Situations where
failure is extremely unlikely, and
would require incredibly bad luck.
Example: A Driving roll to drive
around an empty parking lot.

+6 or +7 – Very Easy. Tasks where failure
is possible, but would require
bad luck. Example: A Driving roll to
drive down an empty suburban
street.

+4 or +5 – Easy. Most mundane tasks,
including rolls made by ordinary
people at day-to-day jobs. Example:
A Driving roll to commute to work
in a small town.

+2 or +3 – Very Favorable. Mildly
risky tasks that most people
would undertake without hesitation.
Example: A Driving roll to
commute to work in a teeming
metropolis.

+1 – Favorable. Tasks that most people
would hesitate at, due to the risk,
but that a career adventurer would
regard as easy. Example: A Driving
roll to compete in a road rally.

0 – Average. Most adventuring tasks,
and the majority of skill use under
stress. Example: A Driving roll in a
car chase.

-1 – Unfavorable. Stressful tasks that
would challenge a novice adventurer,
but not an old hand. Example: A
Driving roll in a high-speed car
chase.

-2 or -3 – Very Unfavorable. Stressful
tasks that would challenge a professional.
Skilled adventurers still
routinely accept such risks!
Example: A Driving roll in a highspeed
car chase on a busy freeway.

-4 or -5 – Hard. Tasks so challenging
that even an expert will look for
alternatives. A true “master” is still
unlikely to feel challenged.
Example: A Driving roll to keep the
car on the road while shooting a
gun out the window during a highspeed
chase.

-6 or -7 – Very Hard. Situations that
even the masters might have second
thoughts about. Example: A
Driving roll in a high-speed chase
during a blizzard.

-8 or -9 – Dangerous. Tasks at which
even the greatest masters expect to
fail. Example: A Driving roll while
shooting a gun in a high-speed
chase during a blizzard.

-10 – Impossible. No sane person
would attempt such a task. The
GM may wish to forbid such
attempts altogether. Example: A
Driving roll to steer a car with the
knees while firing a bazooka twohanded
during a chase through a
blizzard.

These modifiers assume a trained
character. To get an idea of how tough
a task would be for someone working
at default, add the default penalty to
the difficulty modifier.

Example: Someone who never
learned to drive is using Driving at its
DX-5 default. For him, an everyday
commute – “Easy” (+4 or +5) for a
trained driver – would be “Average”
(DX) or even “Unfavorable” (DX-1),
and almost certainly a stressful
experience!

The GM can use difficulty modifiers
in place of other modifiers if the
outcome of a task is too unimportant
– or the action too hot – to justify stopping
to add up a long string of modifiers.
For instance, in a car chase
involving a car in bad repair, the GM
might bump the difficulty up a level or
two instead of assessing an equipment
modifier for the car.

=== Time Spent ===

You can reduce the penalty for a
tough task – or even get a bonus – by
working slowly and deliberately, taking
the time to get things right. Conversely, if you are racing to beat a
deadline, even the simplest task can
become tricky.

Extra Time: Taking more time than
usual for a task (as specified by the
rules or the GM) gives a bonus to a
noncombat action: 2¥ as long gives +1,
4¥ gives +2, 8¥ gives +3, 15¥ gives +4,
and 30¥ gives +5. For instance, taking
a work day (eight hours) to do a one hour
task would give +3. This bonus
only applies if it would make sense to
take extra time for the task at hand
(GM’s judgment). You can take extra
time to open a safe or figure out an
alien artifact, but not to neutralize
poison or chase a fleeing suspect!

Haste: Hurrying gives a penalty: -1
per 10% less time taken. For
instance, attempting a task in half the
usual time (-50%) is at -5. The maximum
time reduction is normally 90%
(taking 1/10 the prescribed time), at
-9. In a cinematic game, the GM
might allow one attempt at -10 to
complete a task instantly; e.g., a
Mechanic roll at -10 to fix a machine
by kicking it! However, you cannot
hasten tasks that require a certain
amount of time due to natural laws
(e.g., a chemical reaction) or the limitations
of equipment (e.g., the top
speed of a vehicle). When in doubt,
the GM’s decision is final.

Note that if a skill specifies time
modifiers, these override the generic
modifiers above. For instance, magic
spells have their own rules for extra
time (see Ceremonial Magic, p. 238)
and cannot be rushed save by those
with high skill (see Magic Rituals,
p. 237).

=== Long Tasks ===
The GM may define major projects as “long tasks”
that require a number of man-hours of work with one
or more attributes or skills. For instance, the GM
might rule that building a rope bridge over a chasm
requires 40 man-hours of DX-based ordinary labor, 24
man-hours of Carpentry work, and eight man-hours of
Engineer work.

The normal limit on labor for each person involved
is eight hours per 24-hour day. At the end of each day,
each worker rolls vs. the skill used that day (the GM
rolls for NPCs). A success puts eight man-hours of
work toward the task; a critical success counts 50%
extra. A failure counts as half as much. A critical failure
contributes nothing, and ruins 2d man-hours of
work already done!

A supervisor who works a full shift with his workers
may opt to coordinate his staff instead of working
himself. Make an Administration roll if organization
matters more than inspiration, or a Leadership roll in
the opposite situation (GM’s judgment). On a success,
the workers get +1 to their rolls for the day; on a critical
success, they get +2. On any failure, the supervisor
contributes nothing at all.

It is possible to work longer shifts. To get an NPC to
do this, make an Influence roll (see Influence Rolls,
p. 359). Roll against HT on any day you work more than
eight hours, at -1 per hour over 10. On a success, make
the usual skill roll and (except on a critical failure) base
the man-hours contributed on the time worked. On a
failure, your skill roll has a penalty equal to your margin
of failure or -2, whichever is worse, and you lose FP
equal to the size of your penalty – but you still contribute
extra labor if your skill roll succeeds. Treat a critical
failure as any other failure, except that you are so
exhausted that you cannot work the next day!

It is possible to cut corners and reduce the manhours
of labor required, as described under Time
Spent. All workers doing a given type of labor make
their skill rolls at the usual penalty for haste. For
instance, the manual laborers working on the rope
bridge above could reduce their work to 20 manhours,
but they would roll at DX-5.

Likewise, it is possible to take extra time to get a
bonus. For instance, if those laborers put in 80 manhours,
they would roll at DX+1. This strategy is likely
to backfire if the extra time takes the form of long
shifts, however.

==== Optional Rule: Influencing Success Rolls ====

Here are two options for GMs who wish to let players spend bonus
character points (see p. 498) to influence game-world outcomes. Be
aware that rules of this kind tend to encourage players to sacrifice longterm
development for short-term success. This is most appropriate for
genres where the heroes usually “win” but don’t develop much; e.g.,
classic comic-book supers. The GM might want to set a limit on how
many points each player can spend this way per game session.
=== Buying Success ===
A player can spend bonus character points to alter the outcome of
his last success roll. It costs 2 points to turn critical failure into failure,
1 point to convert failure to success, or 2 points to turn success into critical
success. Add these costs for multiple shifts (e.g., critical failure to
critical success costs 5 points). To keep the PCs from winning every battle
with a series of critical hits, the GM may choose to forbid purchase
of critical successes, at least in combat.

Note that because “guaranteed success”
can destroy suspense, this optional rule is
not recommended for horror or mystery
games.

=== Player Guidance ===
A player can spend bonus character
points to specify the game-world effects of a
recent success. Whenever he rolls a success
(or in a situation that didn’t call for a roll),
he may spend 2 points and add a plausible
element to the world or scene. A player who
rolls a critical success may spend 1 point for
the same effect. This replaces any other beneficial
effects of the critical success.

Example: Dr. Smith is working at the
Federal Laboratory for Advanced Weapons
when a giant robot bursts through the front
doors, four stories below. Smith makes his
Sense roll and notices the attack. Smith’s
player suggests, “I was walking past the
security station and spotted the robot on a
monitor. I go over to the console and train
the sensors on the robot.” The GM hadn’t
previously mentioned a security station or
sensors, but since that fits his view of the
FLAW, he agrees. Smith’s player pays 2
points and the GM fits the scene in.

In addition to being plausible, a suggestion
must be acceptable to the GM and the other players. In general, the GM
should go along with suggestions that are imaginative, that move the
plot forward, or that save a PC’s life. The GM should not approve a
suggestion that would short-circuit the plot, contradict a previously
established fact, or harm or steal the scene from another PC. In borderline
cases, the player and GM can negotiate.

The GM should make a note of any element added using this rule, as
it becomes a permanent part of the game world!


==== DEGREE OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE ====

Once you have calculated effective
skill by applying all relevant modifiers
to base skill, roll 3d to determine the
outcome. If the total rolled on the dice
is less than or equal to your effective
skill, you succeed, and the difference
between your effective skill and your
die roll is your margin of success.
Example: If you have effective skill
18 and roll a 12, you succeed; your
margin of success is 6.

If you roll higher than your effective
skill, you fail, and the difference
between the die roll and your effective
skill is your margin of failure.
Example: If you have effective skill
9 and roll a 12, you fail; your margin
of failure is 3.

Always note your margin of success
or failure, as many rules use these
margins to calculate results that matter
in play. Even when the rules don’t
call for these numbers, the GM might
wish to reward a large margin of success
with a particularly favorable outcome,
or assess especially dire consequences
for a large margin of failure!

Extremely high or low rolls have
special effects – beyond those for normal
success and failure – regardless
of your exact margin of success or
failure.

=== Critical Success ===

A critical success is an especially
good result. You score a critical success
as follows:

• A roll of 3 or 4 is always a critical
success.

• A roll of 5 is a critical success if
your effective skill is 15+.

• A roll of 6 is a critical success if
your effective skill is 16+.

When you roll a critical success,
the GM determines what happens to
you. It is always something good! The
lower the roll, the better “bonus” he
gives you.

A critical hit is a critical success
scored on an attack. The GM does not
determine the result. Instead, use the
Critical Hit Table (p. 556).

=== Critical Failure ===
A critical failure is an especially bad
result. You score a critical failure as
follows:

• A roll of 18 is always a critical
failure.

• A roll of 17 is a critical failure if
your effective skill is 15 or less; otherwise,
it is an ordinary failure.

• Any roll of 10 greater than your
effective skill is a critical failure: 16 on
a skill of 6, 15 on a skill of 5, and so on.
When you roll a critical failure, the
GM determines what happens to you.

It is always something bad – the higher
the roll, the worse the result.

A critical miss is a critical failure
scored on an attack. The GM does not
determine the result. Instead, use the
Critical Miss Table (p. 556).

==== REPEATED ATTEMPTS ====

Sometimes you will only get one
chance to do something (defuse a
bomb, jump over a crevasse, remove
an inflamed appendix, please the King
with a song). Other times you can try
over and over again until you succeed
(pick a lock, catch a fish, analyze a
poison). Still other times you will not
know whether you succeeded or failed
until it’s too late to try again (translate
an old treasure map, order in a French
restaurant, build a ship). Finally, there
are times when you are injured by failure
but can afford to fail a few times
(climb a wall, impress a savage
tribesman).

The GM must use common sense
to distinguish between these cases,
according to the exact situation in
which the players find themselves. As
a rule:

• If the first failure kills them or
destroys the object of the attempt,
that’s that.

• If a failure causes damage of
some kind, assess the damage and let
them try again after a “reasonable”
time passes. (Skill descriptions frequently
state the time required.)

• If a failure causes no damage, let
them try again after a reasonable time,
but at -1 per repeated attempt – that is,
-1 on the second attempt, -2 on the
third, and so on – until they succeed or
give up.

• If repeated attempts are the norm
for the task (e.g., when attacking in
combat), or if it’s a long task, tell them
that their attempt failed but let them
try again at no special penalty, in the
usual amount of time.

==== CONTESTS ====

Sometimes a situation will arise in
which two characters must compare
attributes, skills, or other traits to settle
a competition. The one with the highest
score doesn’t always win... but that’s
the way to bet. A “Contest” is a quick
way to handle such a competitive situation
without playing it out in detail.

In a Contest, each competitor
attempts a success roll against the ability
being tested – with all applicable
modifiers – and then compares his
result to his opponent’s. There are
two different ways to make this
comparison.

=== QUICK CONTESTS ===
A “Quick Contest” is a competition
that is over in very little time – often in
one second, perhaps even instantly.
Examples include two enemies lunging
for a gun, or two knife throwers
seeing who gets closer to the bull’s-eye.
Each competitor attempts his success
roll. If one succeeds and the other
fails, the winner is obvious. If both
succeed, the winner is the one with the
largest margin of success; if both fail,
the winner is the one with the smallest
margin of failure. A tie means nobody
won (in the examples above, both
fighters grabbed the weapon at once,
or the knives hit the same distance
from the bull’s-eye).

=== Margin of Victory ===
The amount by which the winner
beat the loser is often important – success
by 5 vs. failure by 5 generally
means more than success by 2 vs. success
by 1! The winner’s “margin of victory”
is the difference between his
margin of success and the loser’s
margin of success if both succeeded,
the sum of his margin of success and
the loser’s margin of failure if he
succeeded and the loser failed, or the
difference between the loser’s margin
of failure and his margin of failure if
both failed.

=== Resistance Rolls ===
Most abilities that can affect an
unwilling subject offer the subject an
attempt to resist using an attribute,
skill, or supernatural ability. This is
sometimes a Quick Contest between
the attacking ability and the defender’s
resistance, in which case two special
rules apply:

1. The attacker must succeed to
win. He cannot win by having the
smallest margin of failure. If he fails
his roll, he loses automatically and his
subject does not need to attempt a
resistance roll.

2. The attacker must win to affect
the subject. All ties go to the defender.

==== REGULAR CONTESTS ====
A “Regular Contest” is a slow competition
with much give and take – for
instance, arm wrestling.

Each character attempts his success
roll. If one succeeds and the other
fails, the winner is obvious. If both
succeed or both fail, the competitors’
relative positions are unchanged and
they roll again. Eventually, one character
succeeds when the other fails. At
this point, the one who made his roll is
the winner.

The length of game time each
attempt takes depends on the activity,
and is up to the GM. In a combat situation,
each attempt takes one second... but in a library-research contest,
with the fate of the world hanging on
who finds a certain obscure reference
first, each attempt could represent
days of time.

=== Extreme Scores ===
If both contestants have a score of
6 or less, a Regular Contest can bog
down the game as both sides roll failure
after failure. To keep the game
moving, raise the lower score to 10
and add the same amount to the
higher score.

Example: For a 5 vs. 3 Contest, add
7 to each score to make it 12 vs. 10.

Likewise, a Regular Contest can
become deadlocked if both contestants
have scores of 14 or more,
because it can take a long time before
anyone rolls a failure. To speed up the
process, reduce the lower score to 10
and subtract the same amount from
the higher score.

Example: For a 19 vs. 16 Contest,
subtract 6 from each score to make it
13 vs. 10.

When both scores are greater than
20 – e.g., a Contest of ST between
dinosaurs – even this will not suffice.
Instead, reduce the lower score to 10
and multiply the higher score by
(10/lower score), rounding down.

Example: For a 600 vs. 500 Contest,
multiply the higher score by 10/500
and set the lower one to 10 to make it
12 vs. 10.

=== The Rule of 16 ===

If a supernatural attack (magic spell, psi ability, etc.) offers a resistance
roll and the subject is living or sapient, the attacker’s effective skill
cannot exceed the higher of 16 and the defender’s actual resistance. If it
does, reduce it to that level.

Example: A wizard has an effective skill of 18 with his Mind-Reading
spell. If he tries to read the mind of someone with a Will of 16 or less,
he rolls against 16. If his subject has a Will of 17, he rolls against 17.
And if his target has a Will of 18 or higher, he rolls against 18.

==== PHYSICAL FEATS ====


Below are rules for common physical
tasks of importance to adventurers.
For tasks not listed here, make DX
rolls for matters of precision and HT
rolls for feats of endurance. To determine
weight moved or work done, use
Basic Lift. Movement speed should
generally be proportional to Basic
Move. For more on basic attributes
and secondary characteristics, see
Chapter 1.

=== CLIMBING ===
To climb anything more difficult
than a ladder, roll against Climbing
skill (p. 183). This defaults to DX-5.
Modifiers to the roll depend on the difficulty
of the climb (see below). In all
cases, subtract your encumbrance
level from your roll as well. Climbing
while heavily laden is a dangerous
matter!

Make one roll to start the climb
and another roll every five minutes.
Any failure means you fall (see Falling,
p. 431). If you secured yourself with a
rope, you will fall only to the end of
the rope unless you rolled a critical
failure.

The table below gives skill modifiers
and climbing speeds for some
common climbs. In most cases, use
the speeds in the “Regular” column.
The “Combat” column is for climbs
inspired by rage or terror, which
always cost at least 1 FP – or double
the FP cost given in an adventure or
assessed by the GM. Climbs in combat
require a Move maneuver.

Type of Climb Modifier Combat Regular

Ladder going up no roll 3 rungs/sec 1 rung/sec
Ladder going down no roll 2 rungs/sec 1 rung/sec
Ordinary tree +5 1 ft/sec 1 ft/3 sec
Ordinary mountain 0 1 ft/2 sec 10 ft/min
Vertical stone wall -3 1 ft/5 sec 4 ft/min
Modern building -3 1 ft/10 sec 2 ft/min
Rope-up -2 1 ft/sec 20 ft/min
Rope-down
(w/o equipment) -1 2 ft/sec 30 ft/min
(w/ equipment) -1 12 ft/sec 12 ft/sec

=== Different Gravity ===
A world’s gravity is measured in “Gs,” with 1G being
Earth-normal conditions. In comparison, Mars has
0.38G and the Moon has 0.17G.
Microgravity is extremely low gravity (e.g., that of an
asteroid or small moon) – for game purposes, anything
below 0.1G.

Zero gravity is weightlessness, or “free fall,” as found
in space and aboard any spacecraft not spinning, accelerating,
or otherwise generating artificial gravity.
In higher or lower gravity, mass stays the same, but
weight changes.

=== Encumbrance and Move in Different Gravity ===

If local gravity is more than 1G, multiply the sum of
your body weight and the weight of everything you’re carrying
by (local gravity in Gs)-1. This is the extra weight
you’re carrying due to high gravity. Add this to your
encumbrance when determining Move.

Example: You weigh 150 lbs. and are carrying 30 lbs.
of gear. On a 1.2-G world, that amounts to an extra weight
of (150 + 30) ¥ (1.2 - 1) = 36 lbs. Since you’re already carrying
30 lbs., your total encumbrance is 66 lbs.

If local gravity is less than 1G, multiply the weight of
the gear you’re carrying by the local gravity, and use the
modified weight to determine your encumbrance. There
is a similar reduction in your body weight; this does not
affect encumbrance, but it lets you jump further (see
below). In very low gravity, you may be able to move
faster than your Basic Move by making a series of running
broad jumps instead of walking!

In zero gravity, you float in space (unless using magnetic
boots, thrusters, etc.). If you can’t fly, you must push
off from a solid surface to move. Your Move when doing
so is equal to ST/2, rounded down. You will keep going at
that speed until you grab or collide with something!

=== Actions in Different Gravity ===
In gravities other than 1G, the jumping rules (p. 352)
need modification. Multiply your normal jumping distances
by the ratio of 1G to local gravity. For instance,
under 1.25G, you jump 1/1.25 = 0.8 times as far, while
under 0.2G, you jump 1/0.2 = 5 times as far. (Exception:
Do not multiply the bonus high-jump distance you get
from a running start!) If this lets you jump at least twice
as far as normal, use the rules under Super Jump (p. 89)
to determine how fast you can move by bounding along.
When throwing (p. 355), multiply distance by the
ratio of 1G to local gravity, just as you would for jumping.
Damage from thrown objects does not change, as
this is based on mass.

Gravity also affects falls. Multiply terminal velocity
by local gravity. See Falling (p. 431) for what this
implies.

In zero gravity, your skills and DX rolls are affected
as well; see Free Fall (p. 197). This does not apply when
firing beam weapons (unless they have Recoil 2 or
more) or operating vehicles or tools specifically
designed for zero gravity (e.g., a spacecraft).

=== G-Increments and Attribute Penalties ===

If local gravity differs from your home gravity (see
Home Gravity, p. 17), you might become disoriented
and suffer physiological effects. The change in gravity
you can tolerate without penalties is your "G-Increment."
This is 0.2G unless you have the Improved
G-Tolerance advantage (p. 60).

In higher or lower gravity than usual, count the
number of G-Increments from your home gravity,
rounding down. This determines the penalties you suffer.
For instance, an Earth native used to 1G treats
0.81G to 1.19G as zero G-Increments, but 0.8G or 1.2G
counts as one G-Increment.

DX: You are at -1 DX per G-Increment of difference
(-1 per two full G-Increments, if you have the GExperience
advantage, p. 57). This applies to activities
that require agility or judging ballistic trajectories; it
affects Broadsword, Driving, and Guns, but not Beam
Weapons or Lockpicking.

IQ: You are at -1 IQ per two full G-Increments of
higher gravity, due to reduced blood flow to the brain
and general fatigue. Lower gravity has no effect.
HT: You are at -1 HT per two full G-Increments of
higher gravity, because the heart has to work harder.
Lower your FP score by the same amount. There is no
effect in lower gravity – although microgravity or zero
gravity might cause space sickness (see Space
Adaptation Syndrome, p. 434), or even have lasting ill
effects in the long term.

See Temporary Attribute Penalties (p. 421) to learn
how attribute penalties affect secondary characteristics
and skills.


==== DIGGING ====

Digging rate depends on the type of
soil, the digger’s Basic Lift (that is,
ST¥ST/5), and the quality of the tools
available.

Loose Soil, Sand, etc.: A man can
dig 2¥BL cubic feet per hour (cf/hr).

Ordinary Soil: A man can dig BL
cf/hr. One man with a pick can break
up 4¥BL cf/hr, making it into loose
soil, which is easier to remove. The
most efficient way to dig is with one
man with a pick, and two shovelers
clearing behind him.

Hard Soil, Clay, etc.: Must be broken
up first by a pick, at 2¥BL cf/hr,
and then shoveled at 2¥BL cf/hr. A
lone man with both pick and shovel
can only remove 0.6¥BL cf/hr – he
loses time switching between tools.

Hard Rock: Must be broken by a
pick at BL cf/hr (or slower, for very
hard rock!), and then shoveled at BL
cf/hr.

All of the above assumes iron or
steel tools! Halve speeds for wooden
tools (common at TL5 and below).
Divide by 4 (or more) for improvised
tools – bare hands, mess kits, etc.

=== Time Required and Fatigue Cost ===

To find the time required to dig a
given hole, find the volume of the hole
in cubic feet by multiplying height ¥
width ¥ depth (all in feet). Then divide
the number of cubic feet by the digging
rate to find the hours of work
required.

Each hour of work costs 1 FP for
loose soil, 2 FP for ordinary soil, 3 FP
for hard soil, and 4 FP for hard rock.

==== HIKING ====

Sustainable cross-country speed on
foot depends on ground Move. Start
with Basic Move and reduce it for
encumbrance (see Encumbrance and
Move, p. 17), injury (see General
Injury, p. 419), and exhaustion (see
Lost Fatigue Points, p. 426), as applicable.
The distance in miles you can
march in one day, under ideal conditions,
equals 10 ¥ Move.

If you have the Enhanced Move
(Ground) advantage, you may apply
your movement multiple to this distance.
For instance, Enhanced Move 1
(Ground) multiplies Move by two,
doubling daily marching distance. See
Enhanced Move (p. 52).

A successful roll against Hiking
skill (p. 200) increases marching distance
by 20%. Roll daily. A group led
by someone with Leadership skill at
12+ may make a single roll against the
group’s average Hiking skill. (Hiking
defaults to HT-5 for those who have
not studied it.) Success lets the entire
group march 20% farther; failure
means the whole group must forgo the
bonus.

When these rules result in different
speeds for different members of a
party, the party must either move at
the speed of its slowest member or
split up. Note that a party that has
opted to make a single Hiking roll for
the entire group has already chosen
not to split up!

Terrain

Once you know your ideal daily
mileage, modify it for terrain as follows:

Very Bad: Deep snow, dense forest,
jungle, mountains, soft sand, or
swamp. ¥0.20.

Bad: Broken ground (including
streams), forest, or steep hills. ¥0.50.

Average: Light forest or rolling hills
¥1.00.

Good: Hard-packed desert or level
plains. ¥1.25.

Weather

Weather conditions can further
modify distance traveled:

Rain: Rain halves off-road speed in
any terrain. See Roads (below) for the
effects of rain on roads.

Snow: Ankle-deep snow halves
speed in any terrain. Anything deeper
divides speed by 4 or more. Exception:
Skis allow travelers to treat any depth
of snow as Average terrain. Replace
Hiking skill with Skiing skill (p. 221)
when traveling on skis.

Ice: Cold combined with moisture
– due to rain, sleet, snowmelt, etc. –
results in ice. A coating of ice halves
speed in any terrain. Solid ice, such as
a frozen lake or river, is effectively its
own terrain type; treat it as Bad terrain.
Exception: Treat solid ice as
Good terrain for those with skates.
Skating skill (p. 220) replaces Hiking
skill when traveling on skates.


Roads

In fine weather, most roads count
as Average terrain, regardless of the
surrounding terrain. The best roads
might even count as Good terrain, giving
a bonus.

In rain, low-quality roads – unsurfaced
dirt or gravel – turn to mud.

Treat them as Very Bad terrain. Better
roads behave as Average (but never
Good) terrain in the rain.

In snow or ice, treat roads as
Average terrain, but apply the movement
penalties given under Weather
(above) unless the road is cleared.

Time Required
and Fatigue Cost

These rules assume you spend the
entire day preparing for your hike,

hiking, or resting, leaving no time for
study or other activities. This is true
however small your daily mileage –
the heavier your load and the worse
the traveling conditions, the more
slowly you walk and the more frequently
you stop to rest.

Should you interrupt your travels
for adventuring matters, you will be
missing FP when you stop. See Fatigue
Costs (p. 426) for details.

HOLDING YOUR
BREATH

Adventurers often need to hold
their breath – whether to dive or to
survive poison gas, strangulation, vacuum,
etc. Your HT determines the
length of time you can hold your
breath, as follows:

No Exertion (e.g., sitting quietly or
meditating): HT¥10 seconds.

Mild Exertion (e.g., operating a
vehicle, treading water, or walking):
HT¥4 seconds.

Heavy Exertion (e.g., climbing,
combat, or running): HT seconds.

These times assume you have one
second to take a deep breath (requires
a Concentrate maneuver in combat).

Multiply all times by 1.5 if you hyperventilate
first – or by 2.5 if you hyperventilate
with pure oxygen. A successful
roll against Breath Control skill
(p. 182) multiplies these times by a
further factor of 1.5. However, if you
are surprised and don’t have a chance
to take a deep breath – e.g., when a gas
grenade goes off in combat – halve
these times instead.

Regardless of circumstances, each
level of the Breath-Holding advantage
(p. 41) doubles the time you can hold
your breath.

At the end of this time, you start to
lose 1 FP per second. At 0 FP, you
must make a Will roll every second or
fall unconscious, and are likely to die
unless you are rescued. See
Suffocation (p. 436) for details.

JUMPING

When you want to jump over
something with a Size Modifier 3 less
than yours or smaller (which encompasses
most “ordinary” obstacles), the
GM should say, “Okay, you jumped
over it,” and get on with play. Such
jumps succeed automatically. But
when the obstacle seems really significant,
or if the GM put it there as a
deliberate hazard, use the following
rules.

Jumping Distance

Your Basic Move determines jumping
distance, as follows:

High Jump: (6 ¥ Basic Move) - 10
inches. For example, a Basic Move of
6 lets you jump 26” straight up. For a
running jump, add the number of
yards you run to Basic Move in this
formula. Maximum running highjump
height is twice standing highjump
height.

Broad Jump: (2 ¥ Basic Move) - 3
feet. For example, a Basic Move of 6
lets you jump 9 feet from a standing
start. For a running jump, add the
number of yards you run to Basic
Move in this formula. Maximum running
broad-jump distance is twice
standing broad-jump distance.
Those with the Enhanced Move
(Ground) advantage (p. 52) may apply
their movement multiplier to Basic
Move before inserting it into these formulas
when they have a running start.

This is instead of adding the number
of yards run! For instance, a horse
with Basic Move 6 and Enhanced
Move 1 makes running jumps as if its
Basic Move were 12.

Those who have Super Jump
(p. 89) double the final jumping distance
for each level of that advantage.
This is cumulative with the effects of
Enhanced Move!

Remember that 12 inches equal
one foot, and that 3 feet equal one
yard (or one hex on a battle map).

Jumping During
Combat

The jumping distance formulas
assume you take the time to crouch
and prepare for the jump. In combat,
this takes two consecutive
Concentrate maneuvers. Halve all distances
if you jump without such
preparation.

If you jump over a small obstacle
during a fight (anything with a Size
Modifier 3 less than yours or smaller),
you must use a Move maneuver, and
the jump costs one extra movement
point.

To jump over a larger obstruction
(e.g., a chair) or onto something (e.g.,
a table) during a fight takes your
entire turn and requires a Move
maneuver. Unless the jump is extreme,
the GM will assume you can make the
jump. (Don’t interrupt a battle to calculate
jumping distance every time
somebody jumps onto a chair!)
However, you must make a DX roll
when you make a vertical jump or a
long horizontal one. A difficult jump
(into a pit, for instance) might give -1
to -5 to this DX roll. The GM determines
whether you must roll, and at
what penalty. On a failure, you fall. It
takes two Change Posture maneuvers
to stand up again. On a critical failure,
you fall off the thing you jumped onto,
or land badly if you were jumping
down, and take normal falling damage
for that height (see Falling, p. 431).
To clamber onto a vertical obstacle
without risking a DX roll, take two
consecutive Move maneuvers. Success
is automatic.

Jumping Skill

If you have the Jumping skill
(p. 203), you may substitute half your
skill level, rounded down, for Basic
Move in the distance formulas. In
addition, you may roll against
Jumping instead of DX whenever you
make a difficult jump.


Optional
Jumping Rules

The following rules for jumping are optional. Only use them if you
enjoy extra detail!

ST and Jumping

Basic Move is a ready-made measure of jumping ability – after all, it
measures running speed, and running is just a series of rapid hops.
However, unnaturally strong supers and monsters in fiction can often
make mighty leaps without being speedsters. To emulate this, the GM
may allow those with Basic Lift in excess of body weight to use the higher
of ST/4 (round down) or Basic Move in the jumping distance formulas.

Jumping with Encumbrance

For added realism, multiply jumping distances by the encumbrance
factors given under Encumbrance and Move (p. 17): ¥1 for None, ¥0.8 for
Light, ¥0.6 for Medium, ¥0.4 for Heavy, and ¥0.2 for Extra-Heavy.


LIFTING AND
MOVING THINGS

Basic Lift – ST¥ST/5 pounds – governs
the weight you can pick up and
move. The GM may let multiple characters
add their BL (not their ST)
whenever it seems reasonable; e.g., to
carry a stretcher or pull a wagon.

One-Handed Lift: 2¥BL (takes two
seconds).

Two-Handed Lift: 8¥BL (takes four
seconds).

Shove and Knock Over: 12¥BL.

Double this if you have a running start.
The GM can also make allowances for
precariously balanced objects, to
make them easier to tilt.

Carry on Back: 15¥BL. Thus, you
can carry more than you can lift by
yourself . . . but every second that your
encumbrance is over 10¥BL (that is,
Extra-Heavy encumbrance), you lose
1 FP.

Shift Slightly: Depending on your
footing and the way you are braced,
you could shift or rock 50¥BL.

Pulling and Dragging

When you pull a load behind you
unassisted, use its full weight. Halve
effective weight if you are pulling a
sledge over snow or ice, divide effective
weight by 10 for a two-wheeled
cart, and divide effective weight by 20
for a four-wheeled wagon. (Remember
to add the weight of the sledge, cart, or
wagon to that of the load before dividing!)

In all cases, if the surface is smooth
and relatively level – for instance, a
concrete floor, a proper road, or a
frozen lake – halve the effective weight
of the load. This is cumulative with
the effects of a sledge, cart, or wagon.
Final effective weight pulled, after
all modifiers, cannot exceed 15¥BL if
you are to have any hope of moving
the object at all. Determine your
encumbrance level using effective
weight, and work out Move normally.

Lifting and Moving
Things During Combat

In combat, you can pick up an item
that weighs no more than your Basic
Lift by taking a one-second Ready
maneuver. To pick up anything heavier
requires multiple, consecutive
Ready maneuvers: two if using one
hand, four if using two hands. To pick
up an unwilling character, you must
take a second to grapple him first (see
Grappling, p. 370). He may attempt to
break free during the time it takes you
to pick him up!

To kick, body-block, shove, or otherwise
shift an obstacle in combat
requires an Attack maneuver. You can
move or knock over up to 12¥BL this
way. If you have enough space to run
your full Move, you can knock over
twice this weight (24¥BL) by slamming
into it at a run. This requires a
Move maneuver. These rules are for
inanimate objects; see Slam (p. 371)
for rules governing attempts to knock
over someone who can actively resist.
If using a combat map, be sure to
mark the map or place a counter to
indicate an object that has been
knocked over. This is especially important
for a feature that was drawn on
the map! Likewise, objects picked up
by fighters should be removed from
the map.

In all cases, if an attempt seems
reasonable, do not pause the battle to
compare weight to BL. Use common
sense. Make it fun!

Lifting Skill

A successful roll against Lifting
skill (p. 205) increases your Basic Lift
by 5% times your margin of success
for the purpose of picking up heavy
objects. For instance, if you have
Lifting at 14, a roll of 9 lets you lift an
extra 25%. Roll once per lift.

RUNNING

Your running speed, or ground
Move, is equal to your Basic Move
score modified for encumbrance – see
Encumbrance and Move (p. 17). In
combat, running is just a series of
Move maneuvers. Use the more
detailed rules below when it is important
to know whether the heroes catch
the plane, escape the savage pygmies,
or whatever.

Sprinting

Sprinting is all-out running. It is
very fast, but also fatiguing (see
Fatigue Cost, below). Use it when you
need to cover a short distance quickly,
and can afford to arrive at your objective
somewhat fatigued.

You can sprint if you run forward
for two or more seconds. Add 20% to
your Move after one second. For
instance, with a Move of 7, you could
sprint at 8.4 yards/second after running
for one second at 7 yards/second.
On a battle map, where movement
involves discrete one-yard hexes, drop
all fractions to get a round Move score;
in the example above, you would have
Move 8. Assume that even the slowest
sprinter gets +1 Move. Thus, sprinters
with Move 9 or less can move one extra
hex on a battle map.

If you have Enhanced Move
(Ground), you can accelerate by your
Basic Move every second until you
reach top speed. Use your Enhanced
Move multiplier instead of the 20%
bonus above. For instance, with Basic
Move 7 and Enhanced Move 2, you
run at Move 7 the first second, Move
14 the next second, Move 21 the third
second, and your top speed of Move 28
in the fourth second.

You may only move at your maximum
sprinting speed if the ground is
good and you are running more or less
straight at some goal. Any deviation
from “forward” movement requires
you to run at normal ground Move for
one second before you can resume
sprinting.

Paced Running

If you need to run a long distance,
you will want to pace yourself to avoid
exhaustion. Paced running averages
exactly half the sprinting speed calculated
above. For instance, with a
ground Move of 7, you would run at
4.2 yards/second on good ground;
thus, you could run a 7-minute mile.

Fatigue Cost

After every 15 seconds of sprinting
or every minute of paced running,
roll against the higher of HT or
Running skill (p. 218). On a failure,
you lose 1 FP. Once you are reduced
to less than 1/3 your FP, halve your
Move for any kind of running; see
Fatigue (p. 426).

Note that since paced running is
half as fast as sprinting but burns FP
at one-quarter the rate, you can run
twice as far before you run out of
energy. This is not true for those with
the Machine meta-trait (p. 263),
because they do not fatigue – in general,
such characters will always sprint.


Flying

When flying, use the Hiking (p. 351) and Running rules with these
changes:

• Substitute “air Move” (equal to twice Basic Speed, dropping all
fractions) for “ground Move” (equal to Basic Move). Apply modifiers
for encumbrance, injury, and fatigue exactly as you would for ground
Move.

• Substitute “Enhanced Move (Air)” for “Enhanced Move
(Ground).” For high-speed flight (“running”), handle acceleration with
Enhanced Move as described under Sprinting.

• Substitute “Flight skill” (p. 195) for “Hiking skill” and “Running
skill.”

• Ignore terrain, but note that wind and other weather conditions
can have comparable effects.


SWIMMING

Unless you are Amphibious (p. 40)
or Aquatic (p. 145), you must roll
against Swimming skill (p. 224) any
time you enter water over your head.
Swimming defaults to HT-4. Roll
when you first enter the water, and
again every five minutes.

Modifiers: +3 if you entered the
water intentionally; a penalty equal to
twice your encumbrance level (e.g.,
Heavy encumbrance gives -6); +1 if
you are Overweight, +3 if Fat, or +5 if
Very Fat (see Build, p. 18).

On a failure, you inhale water!
Lose 1 FP and roll again in five seconds
– and so on, until you drown, are
rescued (see Lifesaving, below), or
make a successful Swimming roll and
get your head above water. If you successfully
recover, roll again in one
minute; if you succeed, go back to
making rolls five minutes apart. Yes,
you can shout for help!

You may try to get rid of armor, etc.
after making your first successful
Swimming roll. Roll vs. DX for each
item you try to remove; roll at -4 to
remove shields, helmets, or torso
armor. A failed roll means you inhale
water, with penalties as above.
Once you reach 0 FP, you must
make a Will roll every second or fall
unconscious, and are likely to die
unless you are rescued. See
Suffocation (p. 436) for details.

Swimming Speed

Land-dwellers such as humans
have water Move equal to Basic
Move/5 (round down), although it is
possible to modify this slightly; see
Move in Other Environments (p. 18).
Minimum water Move for such characters
is 1 yard/second.

Amphibious and Aquatic beings
have water Move equal to their full
Basic Move.

When swimming long distances,
use a 10-second time scale. The number
of yards you can swim in 10 seconds
is equal to 10 times your water
Move, modified downward for
encumbrance (see Encumbrance and
Move, p. 17). For instance, water Move
1 and Heavy encumbrance would let
you swim four yards in 10 seconds.


Fatigue Cost

After every minute of top-speed
swimming, roll against the higher of
HT or Swimming skill. On a failure,
you lose 1 FP. Once you are reduced to
less than 1/3 your FP, halve your water
Move; see Fatigue (p. 426).

If you are swimming slowly, or just
staying afloat, make this roll every 30
minutes.

Lifesaving

You can use the Swimming skill to
rescue a drowning person. Make a
Swimming roll at -5, plus or minus the
difference in ST between you and the
person you are rescuing. If the players
think of good lifesaving techniques,
the GM may give them a bonus to this
roll.

On a failure, you inhale water and
lose 1 FP, but may try again after one
minute. On a critical failure, the victim
nearly drowned you! This costs 6
FP, and you must break off the rescue
attempt.

THROWING

You can throw anything you can
pick up – that is, anything with a
weight of 8¥BL or less. If the object
you wish to throw is not already in
your hands, you must take one or
more Ready maneuvers to pick it up.
See Lifting and Moving Things (p. 353)
for details.

Throwing an object during combat
– whether as an attack or not –
requires an Attack maneuver. You can
throw objects that weigh up to 2¥BL
using one hand; heavier objects
require a two-handed throw. Roll
against DX-3 to hit a specific target,
or against DX to lob something into
a general area. Apply the usual
modifiers for target size, speed, and
distance.

Throwing Distance

To avoid slowing down the game
with math, the GM should allow any
throw he deems reasonable . . . but
when you need to know the exact distance
you can throw an object, use the
following procedure:

1. Divide the object’s weight in
pounds by your Basic Lift to get the
“weight ratio.”

2. Find the weight ratio in the
Weight Ratio column of the table
below. If it falls between two values,
use the higher value.

3. Read across to the Distance
Modifier column and find the “distance
modifier.”

4. Multiply your ST by the distance
modifier to find the distance in yards
you can throw the object.

Example: You have ST 12, giving a
BL of 29 lbs. You need to throw a 120-
lb. body over a two-yard pit. Divide
weight by BL: 120/29 = 4.1. This falls
between 4.0 and 5.0 in the Weight
Ratio column, so treat it as 5.0. The
associated distance modifier is 0.12.
Multiplying by ST, your range is 0.12 ¥
12 = 1.4 yards. Oops! The body just hit
the bottom of the pit.

Damage From
Thrown Objects

Thrown objects inflict thrust damage
for your ST (see Damage Table,
p. 16), modified for weight as shown
on the table below. Damage is usually
crushing, but the GM may rule that a
sharp object does cutting, piercing, or
impaling damage instead. A fragile
object (or a thrown character) takes
the same amount of damage it inflicts;
roll damage separately for the object
and the target.

Weight Damage
Up to BL/8 Thrust, -2 per die
Up to BL/4 Thrust, -1 per die
Up to BL/2 Thrust
Up to BL Thrust, +1 per die
Up to 2¥BL Thrust
Up to 4¥BL Thrust, -1/2 per die
(round down)
Up to 8¥BL Thrust, -1 per die

Example: You have ST 28, which
gives you a BL of 157 lbs. and a thrust
damage of 3d-1. You hit a foe with a
hurled 50-lb. bag of cement. It is
between BL/4 (39 lbs.) and BL/2 (78
lbs.). As shown on the table above, it
does straight thrust damage, or 3d-1.

Weight Distance Weight Distance
Ratio Modifier Ratio Modifier
0.05 3.5 2.0 0.30
0.10 2.5 2.5 0.25
0.15 2.0 3.0 0.20
0.20 1.5 4.0 0.15
0.25 1.2 5.0 0.12
0.30 1.1 6.0 0.10
0.40 1.0 7.0 0.09
0.50 0.8 8.0 0.08
0.75 0.7 9.0 0.07
1.00 0.6 10.0 0.06
1.50 0.4 12.0 0.05

Throwing Skill
and Throwing Art

When you throw an object that fits
into the palm of your hand – such as a
bottle, rock, or grenade – you may roll
against Throwing skill (p. 226) to hit a
target or a general area. Furthermore,
if you know Throwing at DX+1 level,
add +1 to ST before you multiply it by
the distance modifier. Add +2 to ST if
you know Throwing at DX+2 or better.
If you have Throwing Art skill
(p. 226), you can use it to throw anything.
Roll against skill to hit. If you
know Throwing Art at DX level, add
+1 to ST before you multiply it by the
distance modifier, and add +1 per die
to thrust damage. These bonuses
increase to +2 if you know Throwing
Art at DX+1 or better.

Thrown Weapons

The rules above are for throwing
rocks, bodies, televisions . . . anything
but weapons. Hurled weapons differ in
three important ways:

1. Thrown weapons use Thrown
Weapon skills (p. 226) to hit, not DX
or Throwing (but Throwing Art does
allow you to throw weapons).

2. Many throwing weapons travel
significantly farther than “ordinary”
objects due to streamlining and stabilization.
Others have less range, due to
the way they are thrown. For instance,
you can hurl a throwing knife as far as
these rules suggest, but the range at
which it will hit point-first and inflict
damage is considerably shorter.

3. Throwing weapons have points,
edges, dense striking heads, etc. that
focus the force of impact. They almost
always do more damage than these
rules would indicate.


Catching

If someone throws an object at you, you may make an active defense
roll to avoid it. However, if he deliberately throws it to you – by successfully
lobbing it into your general area – you can try to catch it. Roll
against DX or a suitable Sports skill to make the catch, at -4 if you are
not taking a Wait maneuver, but at +1 per two full points by which the
thrower made his roll. This counts as a parry with your catching hand.
You can also attempt to intercept a thrown object en route to a catcher.
Treat this as a parry against a thrown weapon (see Parrying, p. 376).
On a success, you snatch the thrown object out of the air.


EXTRA EFFORT

Through sheer force of will, you
can push your body past its usual limits
when you perform physical tasks.
This is called “extra effort.” Note that
if you have the Machine meta-trait,
you cannot use extra effort!

You can use extra effort to increase
Basic Lift (but not ST itself) when digging
or lifting; daily mileage when hiking;
Move when running or swimming;
distance (but not Basic Move
itself) when jumping; and ST for the
purposes of throwing, making a single

ST roll, or drawing or cocking a bow
or crossbow that’s too strong for you.
You cannot use extra effort to increase
the time you can hold your breath –
that would be self-defeating!

To apply extra effort, make a Will
roll.

Modifiers: -1 per 5% increase in
capabilities (e.g., to add 10% to ST,
roll at -2). If you are fatigued, apply a
penalty equal to the missing FP. Roll at
+5 if you are motivated by fear, anger,
or concern for a loved one (GM’s decision,
but you must usually fail a Fright
Check or a self-control roll for a suitable
disadvantage, or be the victim of
a successful Intimidation attempt, to
get this bonus).

Extra effort costs FP whether you
succeed or fail. Instantaneous feats
(e.g., jumps and throws) cost a flat 1
FP per attempt. Ongoing tasks (digging,
running, swimming, etc.) require
repeated extra effort rolls, and cost 1
FP per roll. Hiking works differently –
see below. Pay the FP cost for extra
effort immediately after you attempt
your Will roll. Note that the FP spent
on extra effort do not penalize this
attempt, but give a penalty to future
attempts until you recover the FP.
On a success, you gain the desired
increase in your physical capabilities.
This does not guarantee success at the
task at hand – you could still fail the
DX roll for an extra-effort jump, for
instance. On a critical success, you do
not have to pay FP for your extra
effort.

On a failure, you achieve only what
you would have accomplished without
extra effort.

A critical failure means you lose
HP equal to the FP spent on the
attempt – including any FP the task
would have cost without extra effort –
and the task fails automatically! If you
roll a natural 18, you must also make
an immediate HT roll to avoid acquiring
a temporary disadvantage appropriate
to the task (see below for examples).

Handle recovery as described in
Duration of Crippling Injuries (p. 422).
A sufficiently bad HT roll can result in
a permanent disadvantage!

Notes for Specific
Physical Tasks

Instead of rolling against Will to
use extra effort, you may make a
Will-based roll against a relevant skill
(Hiking, Jumping, Lifting, Running,
Swimming, or Throwing, as applicable),
if that would be better.

Digging: For every hour of digging,
make an extra-effort roll and pay 1 FP.
This adds to the usual FP cost. On a
critical failure, the injury is to your
back, and will heal only with rest (not
First Aid); on an 18, you temporarily
acquire the Bad Back disadvantage
(p. 123).

Hiking: Make one extra-effort roll
per day. Extra effort increases the FP
you suffer by two when you stop on
the march (see Fatigue, p. 426). Assess
injury due to critical failure at the end
of the day, and base it on the modified
FP penalty. For instance, if you would
normally be missing 5 FP when you
stopped, you would be missing 7 FP if
you used extra effort – and if you critically
failed, you would end the day
with 7 HP of injury! When using
Hiking skill, make a single Will-based
Hiking roll at -1 per 5% extra mileage
beyond the basic +20% for a successful
Hiking roll (-1 for +25%, -2 for
+30%, and so on).

Jumping: On a critical failure,
apply the injury to the foot or leg
(GM’s option, or roll randomly); on an
18, you temporarily acquire the
Crippled Leg disadvantage (see Lame,
p. 141).

Lifting and Moving Things: For
every minute of continuing effort,
make an extra-effort roll and pay 1 FP.
(This cost adds to the 1 FP per second
for carrying encumbrance over
10¥BL, if applicable.) Handle critical
failures as described for digging.
When using Lifting skill, make a single
Will-based Lifting roll, at -1 per 10%
extra Basic Lift. This is instead of the
usual 5% bonus per point of success.
Running: For every 15 seconds of
sprinting or minute of paced running,
make an extra-effort roll and pay 1 FP.
This adds to the FP cost for failed HT
rolls while running! On a critical failure,
apply the injury to one of your
legs; on an 18, you temporarily
acquire the Crippled Leg disadvantage
(see Lame, p. 141).

Swimming: For every minute of
swimming, make an extra effort roll
and pay 1 FP. This adds to the FP cost
for failed HT rolls while swimming.
Throwing: Increases to ST affect
both damage and distance, but not
Basic Lift for the purpose of what you
can throw in the first place. For that,
make a separate extra-effort lifting
attempt! Add bonuses for Throwing or
Throwing Art skill after those for extra
effort.

Optional Rule: Extra
Effort in Combat

At the GM’s option, fighters can use
extra effort in combat. These rules
work differently from those above –
mainly to avoid bogging down combat
with extra die rolls and calculations.
You must declare that you are using
extra effort and spend the required FP
before you make your attack or defense
roll. A critical failure on the roll causes
1 HP of injury to the arm (if blocking,
parrying, or attacking with a shield,
weapon, or hand) or leg (if dodging or
kicking) in addition to the usual critical
miss results. DR does not protect you
from this damage!

Feverish Defense: If you take any
maneuver other than All-Out Attack,
you can spend 1 FP to get +2 to a single
active defense roll. (You can use
this bonus to offset the penalty for parrying
multiple times with one hand;
see Parrying, p. 376.)
Flurry of Blows: If you take an
Attack maneuver, you can halve the
penalty for Rapid Strike (see Rapid
Strike, p. 370) by spending 1 FP per
attack.

Mighty Blows: If you take an Attack
maneuver in melee combat, you can
spend FP to gain the damage bonus of
an All-Out Attack (Strong) (see All-Out
Attack, p. 365) without sacrificing your
defenses. This costs 1 FP per attack.
You cannot use Flurry of Blows
and Mighty Blows at the same time!



SENSE ROLLS


“Sense rolls” include Vision rolls,
Hearing rolls, Taste/Smell rolls, and
all rolls to use special senses such as
Scanning Sense (p. 81) and Vibration
Sense (p. 96).
To notice something using a given
sense, roll against your Perception
score, modified by the applicable
Acute Senses advantage (p. 35): Acute
Vision for Vision rolls, Acute Hearing
for Hearing rolls, and so on.
Comprehension Rolls: A successful
Sense roll means you noticed something.
That is often sufficient, but in
some cases, the GM may require a
second roll to understand what you
have sensed; e.g., to realize that the
“owl hoot” you heard is really an
Indian warrior, or that the faint scent
you noticed belongs to the flower of a
man-eating plant. This roll is against
IQ for details that anyone could figure
out, or against an appropriate
skill if the significance would be lost
on anyone but an expert.
Danger Sense: If you have the
Danger Sense advantage (p. 47) and
fail a Sense roll or comprehension
roll to notice something dangerous,
the GM will secretly make a
Perception roll for you. On a success,
you sense the danger anyhow!
VISION
Make a Vision roll whenever it is
important that you see something.
Modifiers: Any Acute Vision
bonus; +3 for Hyperspectral Vision;
modifiers for the size and range of
the target (see p. 550); -1 to -9 in partial
darkness. In total darkness,
Vision rolls are impossible without
special advantages or technological
aids. To spot something in plain sight
– e.g., a car coming toward you on
the road – roll at +10. This does not
apply to attempts to spot hidden
objects, read text, identify faces, etc.
When you try to spot something
that is deliberately hidden, the GM
may treat this roll as a Quick Contest
against a concealment skill
(Camouflage, Holdout, etc.), and may
allow – or require – a skill such as
Observation or Search to replace
Perception for the roll.
Note that the curvature of a planet
blocks vision beyond the horizon.
The normal horizon on an Earthsized
planet is about three miles for
an observer five to six feet in height.
The GM should increase this for
taller observers or those in elevated
positions. There is no horizon in
space!
Useful Advantages: Night Vision
cancels -1 in partial darkness penalties
per level, and Dark Vision lets
you ignore darkness penalties.
Peripheral Vision gives you a Vision
roll to see anything that is
not absolutely, positively, directly
behind you – and 360° Vision lets
you see even that! Telescopic Vision
cancels -1 in range penalties per
level.
Limiting Disadvantages: Bad Sight
gives -6 to Vision rolls to spot items
more than one yard away if you are
nearsighted, or items within one yard
if you are farsighted. Restricted
Vision prevents you from noticing
anything that isn’t in the direction
you are looking. Blindness means
you can see nothing!
HEARING
Make a Hearing roll whenever it is
important that you hear a sound. The
GM will often require a separate IQ
roll to make out speech, especially in
a foreign language.
Modifiers: Any Acute Hearing
bonus; +4 for Discriminatory
Hearing; -4 for Hard of Hearing. The
GM may make this roll easier or
harder, depending on the loudness of
the sound, surrounding noises, etc.
The range at which you can hear a
sound at no penalty is given on the
table below. For each step by which
you are closer than this, apply +1 to
the roll, while for each step by which
you are more distant, apply -1.
For instance, to hear normal conversation
at 8 yards would require a roll
at -3.
When you try to hear someone
who is attempting to move silently,
the GM may treat this roll as a Quick
Contest against his Stealth skill. If
you are actively listening for such
activity, the GM may allow you to
substitute Observation skill for
Perception.
Useful Advantages: Parabolic
Hearing allows you to hear distant
sounds as if they were nearby.
Subsonic Hearing and Ultrahearing
can detect sounds that are inaudible
to normal humans.
Limiting Disadvantage: If you suffer
from Deafness, you can hear
nothing!
Hearing Distance Table
Sound Range (yards)
Leaves rustling 1/4
Quiet conversation 1/2
Normal conversation 1
Light traffic 2
Loud conversation 4
Noisy office 8
Normal traffic 16
“Quiet” rock band 32
Heavy traffic 64
Jet takeoff 128
Very loud rock band 256
Metallica 512
TASTE/SMELL
Taste and smell are two manifestations
of the same sense. Make a Taste
roll to notice a flavor, or a Smell roll to
notice a scent.
Modifiers: Any Acute Taste and
Smell bonus; +4 for Discriminatory
Smell or Taste (as applicable). The GM
may modify this roll for a particularly
strong or weak taste or odor, and may
apply a penalty if it is specifically
disguised.
Useful Advantages: In addition to
giving a bonus to your roll,
Discriminatory Smell and Discriminatory
Taste can reveal sufficient
detail to allow you to identify people,
locations, and objects with precision
equivalent to hearing or vision for a
normal human.
Limiting Disadvantage: No Sense of
Smell/Taste means that you cannot
taste or smell anything.


INFLUENCE ROLLS


An “Influence roll” is a deliberate
attempt to ensure a positive reaction
from an NPC. A PC with an appropriate
“Influence skill” can always elect
to substitute an Influence roll for a
regular reaction roll in suitable circumstances
(GM’s decision). See
Reaction Rolls (p. 494) for more on
NPC reactions.
Decide which Influence skill you
are using: Diplomacy, Fast-Talk,
Intimidation, Savoir-Faire, Sex
Appeal, or Streetwise. Choose wisely!
The GM may allow other skills to
work as Influence skills in certain situations
(e.g., Law skill, when dealing
with a judge). Then roll a Quick
Contest: your Influence skill vs. the
subject’s Will.
Modifiers: All your personal reaction
modifiers (although the GM or
the skill description may rule that
some modifiers do not apply); any
specific modifiers given in the skill
description; -1 to -10 for using an
inappropriate Influence skill (GM’s
decision).
If you win, you get a “Good” reaction
from the NPC – “Very Good” if
you used Sex Appeal. On any other
outcome, the NPC resents your clumsy
attempt at manipulation. This gives
you a “Bad” reaction – “Very Bad” if
you attempted specious intimidation
(see Intimidation, p. 202). Exception:
If you used Diplomacy, the GM will
also make a regular reaction roll and
use the better of the two reactions.
Thus, Diplomacy is relatively safe . . .
If the subject is Indomitable
(p. 60), you lose automatically unless
you have Empathy, Animal Empathy,
Plant Empathy, or Spirit Empathy, as
appropriate. Intimidation attempts
against those with the Unfazeable
advantage (p. 95) also fail automatically.
On the other hand, you win automatically
– no roll required – against
those with Slave Mentality (p. 154).
Psychological Warfare
You can use Propaganda skill for
media manipulation, and Psychology
skill for other “psyops.” This is an
Influence roll. Apply your cause’s reaction
modifiers rather than your own,
and use the average Will of the target
group in the Quick Contest.


Influencing the PCs
Influence rolls are designed to allow PCs to affect NPC reactions.
The GM should not make Influence rolls on behalf of NPCs and tell the
players how to react. Most players form an opinion of an NPC based on
the GM’s portrayal of the character, and few appreciate being told that
they must roleplay a good reaction toward an NPC they do not like or
trust.
This does not mean that NPCs cannot influence PCs! When an NPC
makes a successful Influence roll against a PC, the GM should apply the
NPC’s margin of victory as a bonus or penalty (as appropriate) to the
PC’s die rolls when dealing with that NPC. For instance, if a beautiful
spy beats the PC’s Will by 3 using Sex Appeal, the hero might suffer -3
on self-controls roll for his Lecherousness and -3 to his Detect Lies skill
where that spy is concerned. Be creative!


WILL ROLLS


When you are faced with a stressful
situation or a distraction, the GM may
require you to roll against your Will to
stay focused. On a success, you may
act normally. On a failure, you submit
to the fear, give in to the pressure, are
distracted from your task, etc.
The effects of a failed Will roll in a
stressful situation are often identical
to those of a failed self-control roll for
a mental disadvantage. This does not
make Will rolls and self-control rolls
interchangeable. Which kind of roll
you must make depends on the cause
of the stress, not on its effects.
If a game-world event causes negative
effects (distraction, stunning, etc.)
for anyone who fails a Will roll, you
roll against Will just like anyone else –
even if your self-control roll to resist
identical effects from a mental disadvantage
would be easier or harder.
If a mental disadvantage causes a
negative effect on a failed self-control
roll, you roll against your self-control
number to resist – even if your Will
roll to avoid that same effect under
other circumstances would differ.
However, modifiers to self-control
rolls and Will rolls to resist a particular
effect are usually interchangeable.
For instance, a drug that gives +2 to
Will rolls to resist distraction would
also give +2 to self-control rolls to
resist disadvantages that result in distraction.
FRIGHT CHECKS
A Fright Check is a Will roll made
to resist fear. Fright Checks can occur
as often or as rarely as the GM wishes.
In a horror campaign where ordinary
people meet shockingly gruesome
Things, Fright Checks might be very
common! With only minor adaptation,
the GM can use these rules for
awe, confusion, etc. as well as fear.
As a general rule, “ordinary” frightening
things do not require Fright
Checks. Fright Checks are for events
so unusual and terrifying that they
might stun or even permanently scar
someone.
What counts as “ordinary” depends
on the characters and the setting. This
is one place where a character story
can be helpful! An ordinary, 21st-century
American might have to make
Fright Checks for encounters with
monsters, dead bodies, and the supernatural.
A battle-hardened commando
in the same game might not have
to roll for dead bodies. And in a fantasy
campaign, all these things may
be quite normal . . . threatening, but
normal. On the other hand, a fantasy
character might have to make a
Fright Check if transported to the 21st
century and given a ride down the
interstate . . .
Fright Check Modifiers
The following modifiers are cumulative.
Advantages and Disadvantages: Any
Fearlessness bonus or Fearfulness
penalty; +2 for Combat Reflexes, or -2
for Combat Paralysis. Other modifiers
are conditional: -1 to -4 for Cowardice
when your physical safety is at risk; +1
for Daredevil when charging into a
scary situation; +1 for Higher Purpose
when confronting threats you are
sworn to oppose; +1 to +4 for
Xenophilia when confronting monsters.
Unfazeable characters don’t
make Fright Checks!
Bodies: +6 for a peaceful-looking
body, prepared for burial; +2 for a
dead body with no signs of violence;
no modifier for most victims of violence;
and from -1 to -3 for grisly mutilations.
Apply another -6 if the victim
was your Dependent!
Heat of Battle: +5 if you are in combat
when the terrifying thing happens
or you first notice it.
Monsters: A given monster might
give a basic -1 to -10 to Fright Checks.
For hordes of monsters, roll at -1 for 5
monsters, -2 for 10, -3 for 20, -4 for 50,
and -5 for 100 or more.
Physical Circumstances: -1 if the
body, monster, etc. touches you; +1 if
you witness it at a great distance (at
least 100 yards); or +3 if you view it
remotely (using Clairsentience,
closed-circuit TV, etc.). Apply -1 if the
area is physically isolated, -1 at night
or in the dark (or in daylight, if you’re
a night-dweller!), and -2 if you are (or
think you are) alone.
Preparation: +1 if you have previous
personal experience with this kind
of threat; +1 per exposure to this particular
threat in 24 hours; +1 to +3
(depending on the quality of the
report) if you learned the details of
this particular situation before you
witnessed it.
The Rule of 14
If final, modified Will exceeds 13,
reduce it to 13 for the purpose of the
Fright Check. This means that a roll of
14 or more is automatically a failure.
This rule does not apply to other Will
rolls (resistance rolls, rolls to avoid
distraction, etc.) – only to Fright
Checks.
Fright Check Table
When you fail a Fright Check, roll
3d, add your margin of failure on the
Fright Check, and consult the table
below. This sometimes gives implausible
results. The GM should either
reroll these or change them to something
more appropriate – especially
for Fright Checks stemming from awe
(e.g., divine beauty) or mind-warping
complexity (e.g., otherworldly geometry
or radical philosophical concepts)
instead of fear.
Many of these results give a new
mental quirk or disadvantage. The
GM assigns this trait, which must be
related to the frightening event. If possible,
it should also be related to the
victim’s existing mental traits! Traits
acquired this way reduce the victim’s
point value.
4, 5 – Stunned for one second, then
recover automatically.
6, 7 – Stunned for one second. Every
second after that, roll vs. unmodified
Will to snap out of it.
8, 9 – Stunned for one second. Every
second after that, roll vs. Will, plus
whatever bonuses or penalties you
had on your original roll, to snap
out of it.
10 – Stunned for 1d seconds. Every
second after that, roll vs. modified
Will, as above, to snap out of it.
11 – Stunned for 2d seconds. Every
second after that, roll vs. modified
Will, as above, to snap out of it.


12 – Lose your lunch. Treat this as
retching for (25 - HT) seconds,
and then roll vs. HT each second
to recover; see Incapacitating
Conditions (p. 428). Depending
on the circumstances, this may
be merely inconvenient, or humiliating.
13 – Acquire a new mental quirk (see
Quirks, p. 162). This is the only way
to acquire more than five quirks.
14, 15 – Lose 1d FP, and take 1d seconds
of stunning as per 10.
16 – Stunned for 1d seconds, as per
10, and acquire a new quirk, as per
13.
17 – Faint for 1d minutes, then roll vs.
HT each minute to recover.
18 – Faint as above, and roll vs. HT
immediately. On a failed roll, take 1
HP of injury as you collapse.
19 – Severe faint, lasting for 2d minutes.
Roll vs. HT each minute to
recover. Take 1 HP of injury.
20 – Faint bordering on shock, lasting
for 4d minutes. Also, lose 1d FP.
21 – Panic. You run around screaming,
sit down and cry, or do something
else equally pointless for 1d
minutes. At the end of that time,
roll vs. unmodified Will once per
minute to snap out of it.
22 – Acquire a -10-point Delusion
(p. 130).
23 – Acquire a -10-point Phobia
(p. 148) or other -10-point mental
disadvantage.
24 – Major physical effect, set by GM:
hair turns white, age five years
overnight, go partially deaf, etc. In
game terms, acquire -15 points
worth of physical disadvantages
(for this purpose, each year of age
counts as -3 points).
25 – If you already have a Phobia or
other mental disadvantage that is
logically related to the frightening
incident, your self-control number
becomes one step worse. If not, or
if your self-control number is
already 6, add a new -10-point
Phobia or other -10-point mental
disadvantage.
26 – Faint for 1d minutes, as per 18,
and acquire a new -10-point
Delusion, as per 22.
27 – Faint for 1d minutes, as per 18,
and acquire a new -10-point mental
disadvantage, as per 23.
28 – Light coma. You fall unconscious,
rolling vs. HT every 30 minutes
to recover. For 6 hours after
you come to, all skill rolls and
attribute checks are at -2.
29 – Coma. As above, but you are
unconscious for 1d hours. Then
roll vs. HT. If the roll fails, remain
in a coma for another 1d hours,
and so on.
30 – Catatonia. Stare into space for 1d
days. Then roll vs. HT. On a failed
roll, remain catatonic for another
1d days, and so on. If you have no
medical care, lose 1 HP the first
day, 2 the second, and so on. If you
survive and awaken, all skill rolls
and attribute checks are at -2 for as
many days as the catatonia lasted.
31 – Seizure. You lose control of your
body and fall to the ground in a fit
lasting 1d minutes and costing 1d
FP. Also, roll vs. HT. On a failure,
take 1d of injury. On a critical
failure, you also lose 1 HT
permanently.
32 – Stricken. You fall to the ground,
taking 2d of injury in the form of a
mild heart attack or stroke.
33 – Total panic. You are out of control;
you might do anything (the
GM rolls 3d: the higher the roll, the
more useless your reaction). For
instance, you might jump off a cliff
to avoid the monster. If you survive
your first reaction, roll vs. Will to
come out of the panic. If you fail,
the GM rolls for another panic
reaction, and so on!
34 – Acquire a -15-point Delusion
(p. 130).
35 – Acquire a -15-point Phobia
(p. 148) or other mental disadvantage
worth -15 points.
36 – Severe physical effect, as per 24,
but equivalent to -20 points of
physical disadvantages.
37 – Severe physical effect, as per 24,
but equivalent to -30 points of
physical disadvantages.
38 – Coma, as per 29, and a -15-point
Delusion, as per 34.
39 – Coma, as per 29, and a -15-point
Phobia or other -15-point mental
disadvantage, as per 35.
40+ – As 39, above, but victim also
loses 1 point of IQ permanently.
This automatically reduces all IQbased
skills, including magic spells,
by 1.



===== End =====

This is the end of the file.