Characters presented with particular challenges may attempt to overcome them by physical or mental effort. Such a task may be assigned a Difficulty Factor: if the GM agrees, any character with a score in the appropriate characteristic (plus Rank if they have the appropriate Skill) equal to or greater than the Difficulty Factor will succeed automatically. Other characters must roll less than or equal to their characteristic (plus Rank if appropriate) score on 1d20 to succeed. A roll of 1 will always succeed, and a roll of 20 will always fail.
Example: Tamlin the Cat is trying to climb a steep, slick wall (Difficulty 18). Tamlin is a 5th Rank Thief with the Climb skill and Reflexes 15: because 15 + 5 = 20, Tamlin succeeds automatically ... unless it's raining, adding a further 3 to the Difficulty Factor. Even then, he still succeeds on a roll of 19 or less (as a roll of 20 always fails).
Some characters are capable of using the superhuman senses that are latent in all humans but usually awakened only in Mystics as a result of constant training in using the mind's powers. Characters with Supernatural Senses have both premonition (the sixth sense) and extra-sensory perception or ESP (the seventh sense). Successfully using either sense requires a Psychic Talent check (Difficulty 20 for danger, 25 for thoughts).
All characters can use the Disguise and Pilfer skills, not just Thieves. However, Thieves are much better at such tricks than most others.
The following modifiers apply to the Stealth Roll when using Disguise. Do not forget that the circumstances must allow a plausible explanation of how the character is being disguised.
| Condition | Modifier |
| Inadequate Time to Prepare | –1 to –5 Stealth |
| Unfamiliar with Type of Person | –1 to –5 Stealth |
| Very Familiar with Type of Person | +1 to +5 Perception |
Example: Johannes, a young Thief from Albion, finds himself on the run from the guards of Baron Nikolaos of Analika. He finds a group of fishermen returning from the docks, and uses the Disguise skill to attempt to pass himself off as one of them. As a foreigner, Johannes is unfamiliar with the type of person he is impersonating: however, fishermen are similar the world over, so the GM sets the penalty to his Stealth score at –2. Johannes isn’t really dressed as a fisherman and hasn’t time to chance into something more appropriate, so the GM adds a further –2 penalty to his Stealth score. Things will only get worse for Johannes if one of the guards insists on questioning him: his foreign accent will make it impossible to pass himself off as a local fisherman.
In most circumstances, the character trying to avoid being seen will make a Stealth Roll. However, sometimes it's important to know if a character noticed some small detail or something happening nearby (e.g. when a character fails an attempt to Pilfer something). In such cases, the character may attempt a Perception check (Difficulty 20). If there is a group of characters, the one with the highest Perception score makes the Perception Roll. If that character does not spot the detail, the others will not either.
Characters with the Climb skill may attempt a Climb roll to land gently when they lose their grip and fall. On a successful roll, the character gains +4 AF (cumulative with AF from armour) against the Damage caused by the fall.
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Fall
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Damage Taken
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Fall
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Damage Taken
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|
1m
|
0 HP
|
10m
|
2d10 HP
|
|
2m
|
1d4 HP
|
12m
|
2d12 HP
|
|
4m
|
1d8 HP
|
14m
|
2d20 HP
|
|
6m
|
2d6 HP
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16m
|
4d20 HP
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|
8m
|
2d8 HP
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>16m
|
10d20 HP
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Padlocks are often used in the market towns and ports to secure cash or valuables, but are rare elsewhere. Other sorts of locks are rare: most doors are barred, not locked. Thus, only a Thief will know the tricks and techniques for opening a lock.
The average lock has a Difficulty Factor of 12, and more expensive and complex locks may have a Difficulty Factor of 20 or more. Attempting to open a lock, whether automatically successful or not, takes one Combat Round. If the Thief does not match the Difficulty Factor of the lock and has to roll to open it, the GM will firstly roll to see if the Thief is capable of opening the lock.
If the GM has determined that the Thief is capable of picking the lock, a roll of 1 by the Thief will always succeed, and a roll of 20 will always fail. If the GM rolls greater than the Thief’s Picklock score or rolls a 20, the Thief cannot succeed at this time, and the GM will tell her so once the Thief rolls equal to or less than the Picklock score. The Thief can try again after one week has passed or on gaining a Rank, whichever is sooner.
Lock picks are needed to use the Picklock skill effectively. If the Thief is using tools other than a proper set of lock picks, the Picklock score is halved (rounding down). It is not possible to pick locks without an implement of some kind, and it may not be possible to open a complex lock without proper tools.
Circumstances may reduce the Thief’s chance of success. If the Thief is moving or uses Defence in combat, the attempt to Picklock will automatically fail.
| Condition | Modifier |
| Pitch Darkness |
+4 die roll
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| Extraneous Noise or Bustle |
+3 die roll
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If a poison is potentially fatal, the character will die if he fails the Strength roll. Even if the roll is successful, the character will take some damage over the following Combat Rounds.
| Poison |
STR Roll
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Damage Taken
|
|||
|
round 1
|
round 2
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round 3
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round 4
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||
| Weak |
2d6
|
1d6 HP
|
0 HP
|
0 HP
|
0 HP
|
| Normal |
3d6
|
1d8 HP
|
1d6 HP
|
0 HP
|
0 HP
|
| Strong |
4d6
|
1d12 HP
|
1d8 HP
|
1d6 HP
|
0 HP
|
Both Mystics and Sorcerers can cast spells. The following spells vary from the published versions.