Tests are made by rolling 3d6. Characteristic Tests add only the Characteristic Level to the roll; Skill Tests add the Skill Level, any relevant specialty, and the appropriate Characteristic Level. Both types of test may be subject to Modifiers.
3D6 + Characteristic Level.
Characteristic Tests are tests with no relevant skil—a test of Strength, for instance, to break open a locked door, or a test of Intelligence to remember something you heard or saw.
3D6 + Skill Level ( + Specialty Level) + Characteristic Level.
Most tests are Skill Tests. The Referee can determine the appropriate Characteristic, Skill, and Specialty, or the player can suggest them.
Some tests use neither Characteristics nor Skills, but other values; they work just as the above.
The result is compared to a Difficulty Number (DN) set by the Referee.
| Task | Characteristic Test | Skill Test |
|---|---|---|
| Very Easy | DN 10 | DN 12 |
| Easy | DN 12 | DN 14 |
| Simple | DN 14 | DN 16 |
| Average | DN 16 | DN 18 |
| Hard | DN 18 | DN 20 |
| Very Hard | DN 20 | DN 24 |
| Extreme | DN 24 | DN 28 |
| Impossible | DN 28 | DN 32 |
If the total for the roll equals or exceeds the DN, the test is a Success. If it is less than the DN, it is a Failure.
The Degree of Success is the difference between the test roll total and the DN. This is used to determine how well the character did at the test.
If the degree of success is 5 or more, the test is a Critical Success. This means success is achieved faster, more completely, or in a spectacular manner, as determined by the Referee and the player.
However, if the roll fails by a degree of 5 or more (or the dice come up 3), the test is a Critical Failure or Fumble. Something goes very badly, as determined by the Referee: you drop and lose your tools, you crash your car, etc.
As a guideline, if the DN – total modifier is 11, your odds of success are 50/50. (So +9 total for Hard Skill Tests, +13 for Very Hard, +17 for Extreme, etc.)
You wanna know how the math shakes out? Sure. Cross-reference the difference between your DN and the modifier to your roll on the table below, and see your chances of Success/Critical Success/Failure/Critical Failure.
E.g. if your total modifier is +14, and the DN is 24, your chance of success is 62.5% (critical success 9.3%, critical failure 1.9%).
| DN – Modifier | Success (Total) | Success | Critical Success | Failure (Total) | Failure | Critical Failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1– | 99.50% | 0.00% | 99.50% | 0.50% | 0.00% | 0.50% |
| 0 | 99.50% | 1.40% | 98.10% | 0.50% | 0.00% | 0.50% |
| 1 | 99.50% | 4.20% | 95.40% | 0.50% | 0.00% | 0.50% |
| 2 | 99.50% | 8.80% | 90.70% | 0.50% | 0.00% | 0.50% |
| 3 | 99.50% | 15.70% | 83.80% | 0.50% | 0.00% | 0.50% |
| 4 | 99.50% | 25.50% | 74.10% | 0.50% | 0.00% | 0.50% |
| 6 | 95.40% | 45.40% | 50.00% | 4.60% | 4.20% | 0.50% |
| 7 | 90.70% | 53.20% | 37.50% | 9.30% | 8.80% | 0.50% |
| 8 | 83.80% | 57.90% | 25.90% | 16.20% | 15.70% | 0.50% |
| 9 | 74.10% | 57.90% | 16.20% | 25.90% | 25.50% | 0.50% |
| 10 | 62.50% | 53.20% | 9.30% | 37.50% | 35.60% | 1.90% |
| 11 | 50.00% | 45.40% | 4.60% | 50.00% | 45.40% | 4.60% |
| 12 | 37.50% | 35.60% | 1.90% | 62.50% | 53.20% | 9.30% |
| 13 | 25.90% | 25.50% | 0.50% | 74.10% | 57.90% | 16.20% |
| 14 | 16.20% | 16.20% | 0.00% | 83.80% | 57.90% | 25.90% |
| 15 | 9.30% | 9.30% | 0.00% | 90.70% | 53.20% | 37.50% |
| 16 | 4.60% | 4.60% | 0.00% | 95.40% | 45.40% | 50.00% |
| 17 | 1.90% | 1.90% | 0.00% | 98.10% | 35.60% | 62.50% |
| 18 | 0.50% | 0.50% | 0.00% | 99.50% | 25.50% | 74.10% |
| 19 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 16.20% | 83.80% |
| 20 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 9.30% | 90.70% |
| 21 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 4.60% | 95.40% |
| 22 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 1.90% | 98.10% |
| 23 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 0.50% | 99.50% |
| 24+ | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% |
Tests, especially Opposed Tests, are often affected by Modifiers. These are various circumstances, either external or internal to a character, that affect the test roll.
A negative Modifier is a Penalty, and is deducted from the roll. A positive Modifier is a Bonus, and is added to the roll.
Different characteristics are used for different kinds of tests.
| REF | Tests involving quick reactions and balance, like most combat tasks and driving vehicles. |
| STAM | Tests requiring endurance and hardiness, like long-distance running and swimming. |
| STR | Tests requiring muscle and strength, like arm-wrestling or lifting something. |
| TECH | Tests requiring precise hand-eye coordination or manipulating tools. |
| INT | Tests requiring reasoning or memory. Covers most primarily mental tests. |
| PER | Tests requiring noticing or observing something, like most Awareness Skill tests. |
| COOL | Tests requiring street smarts, keeping your head cool under pressure, or acting tough. Covers most social tests on the Street. COOL could fit for most mental skills performed under pressure, but it should be limited to those tests that require thinking on your feet. |
| EMP | Tests involving dealing with people (and animals), particularly understanding emotions and working with them. |
Sometimes, you can attempt a Skill Test without the appropriate Skill (effectively having a Skill Level of 0). Sometimes you can't—for instance, if you are unskilled at Programming, you can't even begin to try to write an intrusion program to break into a corporate network.
If two characters are competing, or one is resisting the other—situations like an interrogation, or attacks—both make a test roll and the results are compared. The higher result wins. Ties go to the ”active” or ”offensive” participant, if there is one (like an attacker in combat)—in effect, the defender's roll becomes the DN—or are treated as ties (in the case of contests).
A Resistance Roll is the roll made by the passive or defending side in an Opposed Test, which effectively sets the DN for the active side's test.
When undertaking a longer project, of possibly variable length, the Ref can decide a time interval (often days or weeks), and a Success Clock (a certain number of required successes). A test is made for each time interval: on a Failure, no progress is made; on a Success, the Clock advances by 1 step; on a Critical Success, the Clock advances by 1 step; on a Critical Failure, the project is bungled, and all progress is wasted. (At the Ref's judgement, even worse could result, like a serious accident, police attention, etc.) Once the Success Clock is full, the project is finished. At the Ref's option, the Clock could be pushed even further by continuing to work on the project.
For risky Extended Tests, the Ref can also set up a Failure Clock: each failure advances it by 1, while each Critical Failure advances it by 3.
If the entire team must succeed (such as a Stealth Test), use the lowest Characteristic + Skill total. If a single team member succeeding is enough (such as an Awareness Test), use the highest Characteristic + Skill total.
Obviously, you want to succeed at what you try to do. The smart punk doesn't just trust into his natural talents, skills, or even luck—the smart punk tips the odds. Here's some ways:
If you try to appeal to someone's Empathy, you make your roll using your EMP as the Characteristic. Your target makes a a normal Resistance Roll, but must apply his EMP as a Penalty to the roll.
Refs: Don't let players treat EMP as a weakness or a useless characteristic. All attempts to read people should be EMP-based tests. From telling if someone is lying to reading their body language and intentions, it's all EMP.
In some situations, as the Referee judges, the primary skill could be complemented by using a different skill. Make the complementary skill test first: for every 5 points of degree of success (or part thereof), the primary skill test gets a +1 bonus.
For instance, a Social skill test can frequently be complemented by a Grooming & Style or an Etiquette skill test.
If it makes sense to the Ref, multiple characters might cooperate on a test, or assist the one performing the task. In this case, the other characters make complementary tests, just as above. The Ref must judge how many helpers make sense, and whether their test is the same difficulty or not as the primary test.
If the Ref thinks extra time would help, the test gets +1 per 100% extra time spent on it. (I.e., taking 3 hours on a 1-hour job gets you +2.)
If the Ref allows it, a test can be attempted again, if the bonus to the test can be improved somehow: taking extra time on the new attempt, making a complementary skill test, or changing the circumstances to your advantage. The Ref judges if the proposed re-attempt is feasible.