Failure or Success: at the beginning is the Dice?!
The game requires almost exclusively the use of a dice with twenty faces (d20). Those who would prefer a d100-based system only need to adapt the following rules by multiplying everything by five. The result of a Roll of the dice is compared to a number which is called Mastery Level (for a given action). The higher it is, the more ability or chances of success has the Character for the considered action.
When the player wants to make an action which requires one of the Skills of his Character, he computes his Mastery Level by adding his Skill Level and the Level of the associated Characteristic for that action - the Game Master decides which Characteristic is the most appropriate in function of the action and its context; the most usual combinations are indicated in the description of each Skill in the chapter regarding Character's Creation. If the action falls in the field of application of a Speciality, the Player is allowed to add his Speciality Level to the previously computed total.
Special cases: if the action requires only a raw Characteristic, one uses the Characteristic Level multiplied by two. If the action requires two Characteristics, one simply adds their Levels together. From time to time, it may be necessary to combine two Skills.
After that, the Player rolls the dice; there are then several possibilities as one can imagine:
- If the Roll returns a number smaller than or equal to the Mastery Level, the action is a Success.
- In the opposite case the action is a Failure (quite logical so far).
Boni et Mali
According to the inherent difficulty of a given action or to the particular circumstances in which it is done the Game Master will take care to apply Boni or Mali to the Mastery Level of the Character(s) attempting to succeed. These modificators can reasonably be comprised between -5 and +5 for most of the actions. Bigger modificators are either the sign that the action is trivial (why not opt then for an automatic success and go on with the narrative?) or that it is almost impossible to realise (the narrative should anticipate this aso that the Players are dissuaded to risk such a folly).
Specifically, if an action requires a series of successive Rolls of a dice (typical situation of the usual shipwrecked who tries to remain afloat hoping to reach an island after some hours…), one should not forget that even a small handicap (Malus; Mali in plural) or advantage (Bonus; Boni in plural) has a much heavier weight because of the repetition of the Rolls.
Further in these Rules, the Mastery Level of the Character without any other precision is his effective Mastery Level for the considered action at the time of rolling the d20, that is, including any applicable Bonus or Malus.
Let an example clarify everything (or almost that!):
Red, John's Character, has 7 points in Strength, 8 in Shark Feeding and 3,5 grams of alcohol per liter of blood (sometimes it is more like the opposite…) ; a Pirat challenges him to a hundred-meter butterfly-stroke in the harbour: John thus combines Strength and Shark Feeding and must take a Malus of 4 into account because of his excessive consumption of Grog; it finally gives:7 + 8 - 4 = 11If the d20 Roll is smaller than or equal to 11 Red will be able to finish the said hundred meter. That said, it is not sure at all that he won. For that, the Roll of his oponent should also be considered.
Note that if Red has the reputation to be an outstanding swimmer, his oponent might become a Malus for lack of confidence or of supporters for instance.
The same Red, this time sober, shipwrecks in the middle of the sea. Will he be able to swim over the twenty-five kilometers separating him from the land? John will know it by adding Stamina 4 and Shark Feeding 8, without Malus, at leat for the first Roll of the series… He will thus consider a Mastery Level of 12.
Critical Rolls
Critical Success:
If the d20 returns a result of 1 or 11 and that result is a Success, it is said to be a Critical Success, that is to say that the action succeeds in an extraordinary manner. Special rules apply for Characters with a Mastery Level smaller than or equal to 1. In function of the Mastery Score of the Character for the considered Action, the Critical Success is more or less spectacular but, as one understoods, its probability remains relatively low. The Critical Successes may have a significant influence on the Fame and Experience of a Character.
Critical Failure :
There are two cases: if the dice shows up 20 or 10 and that result is a Failure, then it is actually a Critical Failure, which now means that the action fails in a terrific manner. Specific rules apply for the Characters whose Mastery Level reaches 20 or more for the Roll. In function of the Mastery Level of the Character for the intended Action, the Critical Failure is more or less spectacular but its probability remains relatively low. The Critical Failures can have a significant effect on the Fame, particularly on the Better-Off-Ridiculed-Than-Hanged section…
It is theoretically possible, with a successfull throw in « Makeshift Jobs of All Kinds », to build a boat with ones shirt and a box of matches (or two); the success of such actions is up to the Game Master but he will have to take into account, as the example masterfully shows, the experience of the Character, as well as the conditions of execution of the action: available machines, materials, user manuals, etc. and so what?! Well, in short, the « 4Ms »!Beginner's Luck
Some will not stop for such petty details but… A level of 0 in a Skill indicates that the Character has no experience at all of the actions which rely on it. Absolute beginner, she can try to take the plunge and, after all, it is maybe the one chance in a lifetime! But it'll never be easy: actually, if the Level of a Skill for a given action is 0, the Character has an automatic Malus of 5 for the action.
However, no other Malus will be applicable if this is the first time that the Skill is required: this is how one finds hinself sometimes, without any experience, miraculously succeeding in undertakings considered extremely difficult even by experts, let's say that's what's called the « Beginner's Luck »! Once the Skill has been used one time, one indicates it by a sign such as a « + » next to its zero level. That sign can be deleted first when the Skill Level becomes at least one. The next Rolls of dice based on that Skill will not be as easy as this one.
The Game Master will certainly request a Roll of a d20 (or roll himself in secrecy) to let him a chance to see his opponents rigging versus a Mastery Level in Perception + Poker Play, hence 9 + 0. Red has a good sense of observation when he is in a normal condition but here he cumulates a Malus of 5 for being an almost total beginner in Poker and of 3 because of his current state. Since it is not the first time he finds himself in such a position he can't take advantage anymore of the Beginner's Luck. So his actual Mastery Level becomes 1 for this Roll, which leaves him with no very good prospect. The dice comes up with a 19: there's no way he won't be plucked tonight and he now has to Roll versus Cleverness + Poker Play or Got a Nerve! + Poker Play, according to his style or behaviour. In any case he will have to take into account further the full Malus of 8 already computed. He is really in a bad shape… And this will also be bad for his Fame in such a packed tavern!
Specific rules for extreme Mastery Levels
Here is explained the way to manage Rolls when the Mastery Level equals or surpass 20 or on the contrary becomes 1 or less (even negative levels can happen).
For the case when the Mastery Level equals or surpass 20:
One rolls the d20 a first time. If the dice result is any number from 1 to 19 then the action is a Success (Critical Success if the dice comes up with 1 or 11 as usual). If the result is 20, the dice is rolled again and the action is a Failure only if the result of that second Roll is superior to (Mastery Level - 10). This is even a Critical Failure if the result is superior to (Mastery Level - 4). In any case, even for very high Mastery Levels (these are in fact extremely rare), a result of 20 on the second Roll is always a Critical Failure and a result of 19 is always at least a Failure, if not a critical one.
For the case when the Mastery Level becomes 1 or less:
Same logic the other way around… first Roll of the d20: if the result of the dice is any number from 2 to 20 then the action is a Failure (Critical Failure on a 20 or 10 as usual). If the result is 1, the dice is rolled again and the action is a Success only if the result of that second Roll is inferior to (Mastery Level + 10). This is even a Critical Success if the result is inferior to (Mastery Level + 4). In any case, even for very low Mastery Levels, a result of 1 on the second Roll is always a Critical Success and a result of 2 is always at least a Success, if not a critical one.