Trials

Sometimes, players will be uncertain of the outcome of their Heroes’ actions. During circumstances under which said outcome is determined by the skills or capacities of the Hero in question and not by player understanding or creativity, this is known as a trial. During a trial, the player first declares what their character intends to accomplish, and then how they intend to achieve it. The GM then determines which of the Hero’s three attributes best represents their capacity to perform the action at hand, and reaches an agreement with the active Hero’s player on the meaning of success and failure within the context of the challenge.

Difficulty Modifiers

Once the context of a trial is decided, the GM sets a number called the difficulty modifier, which is a number between -7 and 7 that represents their confidence in the Hero’s ability to succeed. All difficulty modifiers are contextual to not only to how difficult the action is but also how difficult it would be for a given Hero to perform it. The only hard and fast rule for determining difficulty modifiers is that they should be consistent with the GM’s previous rulings. For example, if walking across a rickety bridge has a difficulty modifier of -4, then walking across another rickety bridge also has a difficulty modifier of -4 unless there are extenuating circumstances. The lower the difficulty modifier, the easier the challenge. GMs setting the difficulty modifier of a trial should also choose relative to the scale below:

It should be noted that different Heroes will find the same tasks more or less difficult depending on the circumstances and on a character’s means. For example, a character weighed down by their pack might find jumping over a ravine to be Hard or Impossible, while a character unburdened by armor or equipment will find the same task to be Easy or even Trivial. Only one character can attempt a single trial at a time, but the aid of other characters can change the difficulty modifier to be more favorable if the GM deems it appropriate. For example, a character might find it Unlikely to climb up a wall alone, but find it Easy if given a boost by their athletic friend. Difficulty modifiers for the same or equivalent tasks should also not change as player attributes increase. The increased probability of their success instead represents an increased ability to navigate challenges that comes from becoming a more experienced adventurer.

Success and Failure

After the GM sets the difficulty modifier and determines which attribute is most relevant to the trial, the character’s player casts the outcome die and adds the result to the difficulty modifier. If the total number is equal to or under the attribute being tested and/or the result on the outcome die is equal to a 1, then the character succeeds at the action they are attempting. If the total number is above the attribute being tested and/or the result on the outcome die is equal to 10, the character fails to accomplish their goal.

If a character fails a trial, their player may spend a single point of 🜉 to succeed due to good fortune rather than their innate skill. If their player chooses not to do this, then they may not reattempt the task. For example, if the party is attempting to get past a door, one of them can make a Mind trial to pick the lock, and then another can make a Body trial to break the door down. If both of these fail, they cannot be attempted again, and the players must either spend 🜉 to succeed or find another way to bypass or open the door. There may also be additional consequences for the party if they fail a trial depending on the circumstances. This could include the Heroes sustaining an injury, being forced into a battle, or losing ¤ or other resources.

What Counts As A Trial?

There are many tasks that do not count as trials at all. For example, locating new knowledge is a matter of an investigation, and anything that counts as a puzzle will be difficult if not outright impossible to brute force with a trial. Trials also cannot be attempted when the attribute being tested is inappropriate for the situation at hand. However, there are a few actions that can always be handled with a trial. These are: