⏴ Introduction Combat ⏵

 

 

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SUMMARY

ROLLING A TEST ⏷

BASIC SKILL TEST ⏷

OPPOSED TEST ⏷

PROLONGED TESTS ⏷

CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES ⏷

TRAUMA AND LIES ⏷

SKILLS ⏷

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ROLLING A TEST

Summary ⏶

In most role-playing games, the success of an action depends on a roll of the dice, otherwise known as a Skill test.

These tests allow players to act during play, exploring and confronting the world around them using their characters' skills, strengths and weaknesses.

These tests also allow the Exarch to create and maintain narrative tension throughout the game. To achieve this, the Exarch can increase or decrease the difficulty of the action according to the situation.

Attributes

Character attributes are divided into Paths and Skills. Paths determine the agent's history, personality and values whereas Skills define the agent's specific abilities.

PATH OF LEGACY	PATH OF HOPE	PATH OF DOGMA
Beasts	Empathy	Zeal
Healing	Eloquence	Authority
Erudition	Resiliance	Tracking
Crafts	Artistry	Faith
Languages	Etiquette	MIR
PATH OF SECRETS	PATH OF FEAR	PATH OF LIES
Instinct	Combat	Manipulation
Survival	Marksmanship	Infiltration
Investigation	Unarmed Combat	Dexterity
Twisting	Intimidation	Politics
Myths of The Ruin	Strength	Clandestine Networks

Success

To obtain a success during a test, the player must roll a result equal to or higher than a 7 on a D12. A result of 12 is considered a critical success, and is worth 2 successes.

Difficulty level

Some challenges are within everyone's reach and can be performed without rolling any tests, while others are more arduous and require extraordinary skill.

To measure this, an action is given a difficulty level. The Exarch sets the number of successes required to complete the action.

Difficulty of the action	Difficulty level
Trivial	Automatic
Very Easy	1
Easy	2
Moderate	3
Difficult	4
Very Difficult	5
Unlikely	6
Near impossible	7

 

Example: Alex rolls 6D12 for an Easy action requiring 2 successes. He gets 1, 5, 4, 6, 11 and 12. Two of his rolls exceed 7, and the 12 counts as a critical success, meaning that Alex obtains a total of 3 successes, one more than required to complete the action.

Rolling a basic test Declare an action: The player explains the action they want to perform, and the Exarch decides which Skill will be required for it. Set the Difficulty: The Exarch sets the Difficulty level for the action, which the player must meet or exceed in order to succeed. Roll the dice: The player rolls as many dice as their Skill level and their level in the Path associated with that Skill. Each die obtaining a result of 7 or more is a success, with a 12 being worth 2 successes. If the total number of successes obtained is equal to or above the Difficulty level set by the Exarch, the action is successful!

 

 

TEST TYPES & MODIFIERS

The Exarch can use different types of test, depending on the desired effect:

 

Which test for which situation? Basic test: A Basic test simulates the result of a one-off action, such as using an object, obtaining a piece of information or jumping from one rooftop to another. To give emphasis to a more complex action, the Exarch can also use more advanced tests: Opposed tests: for actions pitting your abilities against those of an NPC, such as sneaking past guards, or lying to an important character. Prolonged tests: for actions which take more time to complete, such as digging out a tunnel, studying in a library or scoping out a large crowd.

 

Hidden Difficulty

The Exarch can also choose to hide the Difficulty level of a test from the players.

• In certain social situations, the way in which a result is perceived can be subjective. For example, failing a test might mean that the character misinterprets the intentions of the person they are speaking to, without realizing it.
• During a prolonged test, the players might not be told how long it will take to complete, adding to the tension of the scene.

Advantages and disadvantages

A character can benefit from various bonuses or suffer disadvantages on a test. The Exarch can add or remove dice from a player's pool, depending on the context of the action and the condition their character is in.

Situation modifiers: The general environment of a scene (torrential rain, lack of light, elevated position…) can help or hinder characters, with a maximum modifier of +2D to -2D.

Negative conditions: A character's physical Wounds and emotional state can reduce the number of dice a player can use in combat or during an Intrigue. These conditions are explained in the following chapters.

A player's dice pool can never be reduced below 1 when making a test.

Shared action (group test)

A player can help another player during a test. They must declare they are helping before the dice have been rolled.

The supporting player rolls a test of the same Skill, and every success they obtain adds 1 die to the pool of the player they are helping. A player can only be helped by a maximum of two other characters during a test.

The player cannot receive more additional dice than their overall level in the Skill required for the test. If they have 0 in that Skill, they can still receive 1 die.

How can I make Skill tests more immersive? Skill tests are to role-playing what dialogue is to theater. Here are a few tips to energize the exchanges around your table and help your players get into the spirit of the game: Have them embody their character: Encourage players to speak using the first person when they describe their character's actions. This will help them to get into the role and feel more involved. Ask for details: Push your players to explain what they are doing in more detail. Not only will this help you to understand what they are trying to accomplish, your players will feel rewarded when their efforts pay off. Failure tells a story: When an action fails, players can be tempted to try again...and again, and again. Instead of weighing down the scene by repeating the same tests over and over, encourage them to come up with a different approach. Creativity always matters more than Skill tests.

BASIC SKILL TESTS

Summary ⏶

Facing a dangerous situation

The player rolls their pool of dice: if they obtain a number of successes equal to or higher than the Difficulty level set by the Exarch, the action is a success.

To make a Skill test, the player rolls a number of dice equal to their level in the required Skill, plus the level of that Skill's Path.

Example: Loriane needs to roll a test to persuade a guard to allow her to interrogate a prisoner. After explaining and roleplaying her action, the Exarch informs her that the associated Skill for this roll is Eloquence, which is in the Path of Hope. Loriane has an Eloquence score of 3, and a score of 2 in the Path of Hope, giving her a total of 5 dice to roll.

 

 

OPPOSED TESTS

Summary ⏶

Facing off against an opponent

To give more emphasis to an NPC's action, you can make an opposed test instead of a basic test. The player and their opponent each make a roll, and the one with the highest number of successes wins. If there is a tie, the character who initiated the test wins.

If one of the two participants rolls a double 12, they automatically win the opposed test, regardless of how many successes their opponent rolled.
If both participants roll a critical success, then the one with the highest overall number of successes wins.

Example: To avoid being spotted by a guard, Diane's character Callia rolls an Infiltration test against the guard's Instinct. Callia obtains 3 successes, whereas the guard only gets 1, so her character sneaks by unnoticed.

Some situations can be resolved in this way, however Combat or social Confrontations have their own special rules.

PROLONGED TESTS

Summary ⏶

Sacrificing time to get better results

Some actions are more complex and take time. In such cases, the Exarch can ask for characters to perform a prolonged Skill test. In addition to the Skill required for the test, the Exarch sets the total number of successes to be achieved and the timeframe, meaning the time interval between each test.

A prolonged Skill test may require several rolls to reach the Difficulty Level set by the Exarch. The character can retry the test once the time interval has elapsed.

The test is successful once the number of successes rolled equals or exceeds the test's Difficulty level.

If a character obtains 0 successes during a roll for a prolonged test, then the test fails.

 

Example: To cure themselves of a serious illness, the character rolls a test every day until the sum of successes reaches the required Difficulty Level, i.e. 8 successes in total :

Skill	Timeframe	Difficulty
Healing (Legacy)	1 day	8 successes

A test of this type is written as follows: Healing (Legacy) (1 day) 8 successes.

Timeframe of a prolonged test

Depending on the desired action, the timeframe for a prolonged test may vary. However, only a simple prolonged test can be carried out during combat.

Task complexity	Timeframe
Simple (prolonged Skill action)	1 turn
Moderate (requires sustained concentration)	1 hour
Complicated (requires specific preparation or components)	1 day
Very complicated (requires lengthy preparation or rare ingredients)	1 week

Adding a time limit

Some actions can only be carried out for a limited amount of time, and the Exarch can limit the number of attempts:

Healing (Legacy) (1 day, 3 max.) 8 successes.

 

CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES

Summary ⏶

The Paths

The 6 Paths represent a character's ideals. The level of a Path ranges from ● to
●●●●●●.