how to drive a semi doesn’t need to roll to start one up and
Things to Remember About Ability Tests
get it on the road.
Beyond this, don’t require a roll when the story’s progress
requires success. If the characters need to befriend a stranger
with critical information, don’t let a blown roll halt the adven-
ture. Instead, players roll to improve the quality of the infor-
mation, and create a stronger bond. But the basic result—
getting the NPC to talk—succeeds, barring outrageous
behavior from the PCs.
Which Abilities & Focuses Apply?
If an ability test is called for, pick the ability and focus that
match the effort required. If a character is trying to force a
door open, for example, you’d call for a Strength (Might) test.
Sometimes, the right focus is obvious. Trying to sneak down a
hall? That’s a Dexterity (Stealth) test. Other times, the answer
isn’t clear, or no focus applies. In the latter case, it’s just a
straight ability test. But if a player comes up with a good
argument for a focus, accept it and add its bonus.
Two participants in opposed tests may use different abili-
ties and focuses from one another. A character trying to get
past a restaurant’s haughty maître d’ pits his Communica-
tions (Etiquette) test against the maître d’s Willpower (Self-
Discipline) test. In fact, Communications (Bargaining) might
work as a different approach. Players may suggest focuses
for their characters to use; if they make sense, allow them.
Usually any character can attempt to take an ability test, but
some tests require specialized knowledge or skill. When that’s
the case, you can make a specific focus a requirement to even
attempt it, such as with an Intelligence (Science required) test.
A character trying the test without the required focus auto-
matically fails.
How Much Time Does the Test Take?
An ability test can represent seconds, hours, or even days,
depending on what the character is trying to achieve.
During narrative time, the increments will tend to be larger.
Sifting through a warehouse for a hidden item might require
1 hour per increment. In action time, however, tracking the
exact time is more important. Each round of action time is
15 seconds, during which a character can take a major action
and a minor action, or two minor actions. When deciding
how long a test takes during action time, express it using
these action types. A long action might take a major action
and a minor action, or two of each for something that would
stretch across 2 rounds.
Some ability tests are reactions. For instance, some extraor-
dinary powers require targets to make a test to resist certain
effects. Such tests are considered to take no time, as they
usually take place when it’s not the testing character’s turn. In
most cases, they don’t use up the resisting character’s actions.
What are the Stakes?
If the character succeeds, what happens exactly? These are the
stakes. Usually, the result is obvious, and you’ll find it easiest
to make many tests binary: either a character succeeds or fails.
A character trying to jump over a chasm will get across or fall.
Sometimes, more nuance is required. That’s where the Stunt
Die comes in. Use its result to determine a character’s degree
Chapter 8: Mastering the Rules
• Only one focus can apply to a test.
• Leave the dice on the table after a roll because the
result of the Stunt Die may be important.
• The Stunt Die only counts for successful tests.
• In opposed tests, ties are broken by the Stunt Die,
or the higher ability if Stunt Dice are tied.
• For basic tests, assess the situation and assign a
difficulty.
• Circumstances can be represented with bonuses
and penalties of 1–3.
of success. A 1 means the action barely succeeded; a jumping
character makes it, but hangs off the edge of a building by
one arm! A 6 means the results were spectacular; the leaping
character lands on their feet, ready for action.
What are the Consequences of Failure?
When a character fails an ability test, what happens? Some-
times the consequences are obvious: the character is injured
in an accident, offends an NPC they’re trying to charm, or
misses a clue. Decide if anything can mitigate the situation.
For example, a Dexterity (Acrobatics) might give a falling
character a chance to grab at some crack or windowsill.
Decide if the characters can try the failed action again. You
can say yes, yes with conditions, or no, depending on the
circumstances. If a character has the time and the action seems
reasonable, allow another attempt. You might require a new
approach, resources, and assistance to try again. But some-
times the moment passes, or the challenge is just too difficult,
and the character is stuck with failure. You may rule that a
few repeated failures indicate it’s just too tricky a problem.
The main criteria? If repeated attempts slow down play, it’s
better to move on.
Basic Tests
Basic tests are the easiest to resolve because a character is
testing against a fixed target number. Unless a character is
actively opposed by another character or monster, you should
use basic tests. The Basic Test Difficulty table provides bench-
marks for basic test difficulty and you’ll probably consult it
more than any other table in the game.
Basic Test Difficulty
Test Difficulty Target Number
Routine 7
Easy 9
Average 11
Challenging 13
Hard 15
Formidable 17
Imposing 19
Nigh Impossible 21
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