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).
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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:
Forgery, Forward Observer, Holdout, and Lockpicking.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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).
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).
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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).
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 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.
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.
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.
This is the end of the file.