Check
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Meaningful Checks Likewise, be prepared to follow through on either possibility if the check dictates it. If that sounds untenable or uninteresting then don't check, just narrate the success. Narrating an automatic failure is possible but much more frustrating. Any time you take this option you should highlight that the failure is due to circumstances outside the players control, and call out those circumstances so they have an avenue for changing them. Never cheat a check. When you get a result you don't want it introduces precisely the chaos and surprise that makes a dice driven game different from a story driven game. What you thought was the climactic victorious moment is actually a tragedy or a setback. Go with it, and see what's down that path. |
Checks resolve uncertainty when there's a question about the outcome and the result matters. Roll dice equal to your score in the most applicable facet. Each facet lists examples of appropriate checks. The referee has final say on which facet is most appropriate for a situation. You may add dice for "bonus" modifiers (see below), or add Interference dice for "penalty" modifiers.
Rolls
A higher result is better, and more of the same result (the "Gain") are better. Rolls of 1, 2, and 3 are set aside as "Fails" and do not impact the outcome at all. Rolls of 4 or better is a "Win" and count towards success. The highest number rolled is the Result. Any matching rolls are taken with it to make its Gain. Any remaining Wins (4 or better) count towards the Momentum Pool. A roll of 6 "Explodes": keep it and roll an extra die. If the new die explodes again, keep rolling!
Retries
Retries allow you to re-roll some or all of the dice in a roll. After explosions are resolved you may attempt any eligible re-rolls. Note that retries occur after checking for explosions, so no more dice are added. The new roll is always taken, and is "frozen" for other retries. Retries from different sources don't have to be rolled all at once, but each die may only be re-rolled one time. A few things allowed retries:
- 6's are eligible for re-rolls, letting you reduce your Gain in hopes of Momentum (see below).
- Distinctions may allow retries on a number of Fails.
- Cooperation allows retries of a number of Fails.
- Paying a Shift allows the re-roll of any number of dice, including Fails.
Interference
Penalties are rolled as dice themselves, usually of another color at the same time as the check, and may remove Wins from the original check. Roll any Interference dice like a check: discard Fails as usual, roll explosions for any 6's, and then resolve any applicable retries (see below). Starting with the lowest Win in the Interference pool, discard it along with the lowest Win from the Check--so long as that die is equal or lesser in value. If all the Check pool's dice are a higher value, discard the Interference die and move to the next one. Continue until all dice in the Interference pool have been discarded, or until no successes remain in the Check pool.
- If the check had Advantage, Retry every 6 in the Interference pool.
- If the check had Disadvantage, Retry every Fail in the Interference pool.
- Unless otherwise specified, no other Retry applies to Interference.
Results
Whatever Win has the highest number, that's your "Result". Multiple dice with the same number all count together as the Gain of the Result. So if the highest roll is a 5, the Result is a 5. If there were two dice that rolled 5 then the Gain is 2. Set the Result aside, that becomes the target for any Opposition to beat. Any remaining Wins may generate Momentum. If there are no Wins left, the check fails. If the Result comes from Interference the check is a Fumble, and may have extra consequences.
Opposition
Sometimes a check is actively opposed by another check. It's rolled normally, including any Interference. To succeed in the contest, the Result from the new roll must be higher than the original, or on a tie its Gain must be larger. If that happens the original check is stopped. On any lesser result the original is unaffected. Momentum still counts for both checks--even the losing one.
Green-Jade Huang kicks Tenacious Chen, and he dodges. She rolls 3d for her Technique score, and results are 2, 4, and 5. He rolls 2d for his Lightness. He rolls a 1 and a 6, bonus die comes up a 2. His 6 Result beats her 4, so he successfully dodges the kick.
Momentum
Every pair of Wins in the roll that isn't part of the Result generates Momentum. Momentum may:
- Trigger a stunt the character possesses.
- Convert into a +1/-1 Damage if an Attack is involved.
- Grant a +2/-2 modifier to any one character's next check. Mark the Momentum by placing the dice on the appropriate character sheet or figure, and the next time the character rolls a check the die is added to the result.
Shifts
Each character starts with three Shifts. After the results of any Check or Save (including Interference and Opposition) you may spend 1 Shift to add another 2 dice to the roll or retry all dice desired. After seeing the new result you may spend another Shift and add 2 more dice, and so on until you are satisfied with the result or run out of Shifts to spend. Note that dice may be added after retries, but they don't explode.
The Referee has Shifts to spend as well. If spending to oppose a player both sides may spend Shifts freely until satisfied or out of Shifts. If a player is satisfied, then the GM spends a Shift and changes the outcome the player once again has the opportunity to spend Shifts, and vice-versa.
Venture
You can take risks to get a better chance of momentum--if you succeed. Before you roll a check, you may add 2 Interference for a "Venture." After the Result is set aside, but before any Opposition, each Venture turns an unpaired Win into Momentum. Note that two ventures may automatically become 1 Momentum, even if there are no Wins to pair with. You can try for more than one Venture, but each instance adds two Interference, and you may not Venture if the Interference is already six dice or more.
Green-Jade Huang faces a gang in an alley, and hopes to intimidate them into leaving her alone. When one throws a punch, she declares 1 Venture on her guard, attempting fancy dodge using the splits and then flicking the thug on the nose to display her prowess. The gang member rolls his 2d Technique and scores a Result of 4. Huang rolls her 4d Lightness and gets 1, 2, 4, 5, plus two Interference dice that comes up 2 and 3...not affecting her pool. Her Result of 5 beats the thug's check, leaving her 4 pair with her Venture, giving her momentum. She'll take that as a boost to her next check which she plans to use to stare the gang down on her turn!
Advantage and Disadvantage
Some Distinctions, Faults, and circumstances may apply Advantage or Disadvantage to a check. The two states cancel one another out if both are present in the same check.
- "Advantage" means you may retry all 6's on Interference.
- "Disadvantage" means you must retry all Fails on Interference. If you have no Interference you get -2 instead.
Failure
A failed check doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t accomplish what you attempted, just that it had some cost. In combat, the cost is precious time where enemies may now strike you. Outside of an encounter the cost might be exhaustion, damage, losing assets, or gaining some other complication. If there isn't a meaningful cost--ie you can just try again without any condition changing or a foe gaining a chance to do something first--then it didn't matter and shouldn't be a check anyway. Sometimes this is an instinctive call, where the GM asked for a check without any consequence in mind until failure made one necessary. This can become a negotiation if a player has an alternative consequence that's still meaningful within the situation.
Tenacious Chen is attempting to build a barricade before enemies arrive. The referee rules that this is a strength check, and a success indicates that the barricade is complete in time without becoming exhausted. Chen fails the check, and in this case has a choice: the barricade is completed but Chen is exhausted (a state) for the upcoming battle due to the effort to get it done in time, or Chen is fine but the barricade isn't far enough along to offer any protection at all. The referee agrees that's a valid consequence, and now Chen must decide whether that barricade is worth it.
Cooperation
When allies pool their efforts determine which character is rolling the most dice for the Check. This character becomes the "Leader". If more than one character could be the leader players may choose who takes the leader role. Everyone else rolls an appropriate check with 1 Interference for each other person cooperating. The leader may retry a number of Fails equal to their Gains. Momentum from each of these rolls is used normally. A failure generates 1 Interference for the leader, and Fumble generates 2 Interference.
See Also
Version 2.5.4
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