How Skills are used
Let's say you want to climb a cliff. You have a climbing skill of Fair.
First of all, the mod will determine how difficult the cliff is to climb. They might adjust this to your particular circumstance (having climbing aids might make it easier, trying to climb under pursuit might make it harder). Let's say for the sake of this example that the cliff is of Good difficulty.
Now the mod will roll 4d3-8. This will give a number between -4 and +4, which is then added to your skill. If skill + this random component is greater than or equal to the difficulty of the climb, it will be successful. If it's less, it won't be. The mod can fill in what happens based on the numbers, and how far above or below the needed difficulty you rolled (your measure of success or failure).
How does the mod set difficulties?
Taking from FATE:
The baseline for these difficulties is based around the idea that a Superb skill represents the practical apex of human skill - transcending Superb is truly the stuff of epics and legends.
Negligible difficulty (Poor)
- These are tasks that should not require a roll. These tasks are easily doable by anyone with the basic understanding of, and physical capability for, the task at hand. These should almost never require a roll.Simple Tasks (Mediocre)
- This is the difficulty for most tasks that an ordinary person could encounter on a routine basis. They are the sorts of challenges that can be overcome without any real drama or struggle, provided the character is even faintly competent. Mundane Tasks (Average)
- these are the sort of tasks that would challenge the average person, but are handled regularly by experts and professionals. Someone with basic skills might be able to perform this sort of task in a pinch, but not with any regularity.Difficult Tasks (Fair)
- These are tasks that are pretty much entirely out of the realm of a person with only basic training. These tasks are noteworthy enough that they are rarely approached without taking proper care to make preparations. Daunting Tasks (Good)
- Even skilled professionals balk in the face of these tasks, and it's entirely possible for a person to go their whole life without ever facing a challenge of this scope. Capability with this sort of task is indicative of a great deal of training or natural talent (or both).Staggering Tasks (Great)
- Only the best of the best need apply - there are only a handful of people in the world at any given time who could do this sort of thing with any sort of consistency. Nearly Impossible Tasks (Superb)
- At this level, it is possible to start doing things that expand the very nature of the task at hand.For example:
Combat
Combat is broken down into "exchanges". Each exchange consists of one set of actions by everyone involved in the combat. These actions are declared
simultaneously
.Combat begins with the mod assessing any bonuses. The following things will result in a +1 bonus applied to each roll (as long as they still apply): Superior weapons, superior armour, superior position, superior numbers, flanking your opponent, and surrounding your opponent.
Players then declare what they want to do. If the player chooses to defend at all costs, they get an additional +1 bonus, but can't damage the opponent. The mod rolls 4d3-8 for each combatant, adds this with the bonuses to each combatant's skill score, and compares. The measure of success is compared to the following table to figure out what happens:
The circle is "checked off" for the losing player (except for scratches), and the mod describes what happened. Keep in mind that the categories can be applied very creatively -- "Hurt" doesn't necessarily mean a physical injury, it's just anything that provides a persistent advantage to the attacker. If all the circles in one row are checked off, a circle is checked off instead in the next available higher level. (So if both Clipped circles are checked off, the next result of Clipped gets checked off as Hurt, with everything that entails.)
So how are Fate Points used?
Fate Points have two primary functions -- rewarding good in-character gameplay, and enabling players to gain extra control over how things operate. For example, a Fate Point could be spent to establish that a previously forgotten piece of equipment was in the player's backpack the entire time (provided it could be established this was reasonable for the character). One Fate Point can also be used per roll to raise the result of the roll by 1. This can be spent either before or after the roll. This can even result in a bidding war of Fate Points where rolls are opposed (you can spend more than one Fate Point in this case, but only one more than your opponent).
How are Aspects used?
Aspects affect every part of your character, as they are descriptions of who your character is. Each Aspect affects how your character behaves, his/her ethics and value systems, and his/her underlying abilities and motivations. Roleplaying according to your character's Aspects will earn you Fate Points. Roleplaying against them can result in losing Fate Points.
This usually happens with a "compel" by the mod on an Aspect. For example, if you had an Aspect of Coward, the mod might offer you a Fate Point to run from a situation. You would have to match the bid in order to act against type. This could result in a bidding war, depending on the situation and how much the mod feels you would want to run from that situation.
Aspects can also be used to influence rolls. For example, a Swordsman Aspect would allow you to look at a poor roll and intercede, because you are a better swordsman than the roll just showed. Using an Aspect in this way checks off a circle for that Aspect, and allows you to either reroll or to change any one die's roll into a 3.
Aspects get "refreshed" (all circles become unchecked) at the end of...(need to set refresh period).
How does Magick work?
Section coming
