to resolving any other skill roll. The player makes a standard (explosive) 2d10 roll, and adds in his bonus for the Save. Usually, this is the stat bonus of the relevant stat plus 5, but it is possible for other modifiers to be included as well. If this roll meets or exceeds the TN of the Saving Throw, then the character has made his Save, and whatever he was Saving against does not affect him or he receives a reduced effect of some sort, depending upon what the Save was against. There are some effects, such as poisons, where a successful Save results in half damage. In such cases, the GM should always round down when halving the effects of something.
Since Saving Throws are explosive, just like other rolls, there is always the chance for characters to earn Boon or Snag Points. For any Snag Points earned, the player should choose options from the Snags table. For Boon Points, the player can spend 1 Boon Point to gain a +1 to all Saves of the same type (i.e. same Stat) that he makes within the next 24 hours. He may also use Boon Points to extend that duration by an additional 24 hours. He may also spend Boon Points to gain Fate Points, trading 2 Boon Points from a Saving Throw for 1 Fate Point.
Opposed Rolls: There are times when a character’s
rolls will be opposed by another character. This can sometimes be done through the use of another skill for a skill vs. skill roll.
For skills that are opposed by another skill, the character opposing that roll will be required to make a skill roll against a TN of 18 + 1 for every 5 points above the TN that the initial skill roll was.
A character may also always use Boon Points to increase the TN of the opposing roll. Additionally, there may be other modifiers that can apply, based upon the conditions and the actual skills to be used.
Example: Joe is having his character, Argon, attempt to
sneak past the Orc guard. So it is Argon’s Stealth vs. the Orc’s Perception. The GM determines that the Stealth roll will be a Hard roll (TN 20), and that the actual layout of the area makes it just a slight bit harder, for a final TN of 21. Argon’s Stealth skill bonus is 9. Joe rolls an 8 and a 10 and the extra die from the explosion rolls a 4, giving him a total of 31. This is 10 points above Argon’s TN, so the TN of the Orc’s Perception roll will be raised by 2 to a 20. Now, Argon also earned a Boon point with that roll, so he uses that to increase the TN of the opposed roll by another 2 points to 22. The GM decides that since the Orc has Nightvision, that he won’t increase the TN of the Perception roll due to the darkness. So, the final TN of the Perception roll will be 22 (18 base + 2 from rolling over the TN + 2 from the Boon). The Orc has a Perception skill bonus of 5. The GM rolls an 8 and a 4 for the Orc giving him a total of 17, and he fails to spot Argon sneaking past.
Opposed Saves: There will be times when one or more
characters (or NPCs) will oppose one another and where there are no skills involved. To resolve this, each character simply makes a Saving Throw (using the same TN) of the appropriate type. And the winner is the one who has the highest amount over TN of the Save. In cases of a tie, a second Saving Throw is made, and the TN of this second Save is 3 points higher than the one before. Repeat as required until there is a winner.
Character Deductions: There may be times where
the player’s character may have the ability to figure something out, but the player does not. In such cases, it would be proper for the GM to call for the character to make a Save vs. Intelligence. If this Saving Throw succeeds, then the character will remember some pertinent detail or fact that helps him figure it out. Exceptional rolls can allow for the character to remember more information. This type of roll can never give a character information that he would not already possess. This is meant to be an aid to the GM, especially when he makes a puzzle that is too hard for the player, but might not be for the character.
B
ased
iFFiCultyR
atingsNovus contains only a few base difficulty ratings. These ratings are the starting points from which a GM should determine the actual Target Number (TN) of a given task.
Mundane (TN 10): This is the base Target Number (TN)
for common everyday tasks performed by individuals going about their daily life. In most cases, rolls are not even required for these sorts of tasks.
Average (TN 15): This is the base TN for tasks that are
commonly performed in the course of adventuring. These are the things normally done under a little bit of stress.
Hard (TN 20): Tasks of this difficulty often require
that skilled person attempt them. They can be accomplished by the average person only with a bit of time and dedication and effort.
Challenging (TN 25): Tasks of this difficulty require that
skilled persons perform them. And even then, that person will likely be required to put forth time and effort to accomplish the task.
Heroic (TN 35): Tasks of this difficulty are considered to
be on the edge of mortal capabilities. These are the sort of tasks that might be considered world records.
Legendary (TN 45): Actions of this Difficulty Rating are often
gm’s seCtion
C
ommont
asksTask TN
Balance (on surface 7-12 inches wide) 15 Balance (on surface 2-6 inches wide) 18 Balance (on surface less than 2 inches wide) 22 Bluff (using Influence - something believable) 20 Climb Rope (knotted or bracing against wall - 5’/AP) 15 Climb (wall with ledges or ship rigging - 5’/AP) 15 Climb (few handholds, typical dungeon wall - 5’/AP) 20 Climb (rough rock wall or a brick wall - 5’/AP) 25
Disarm Trap (average trap) 20
Pick Lock (a simple lock) 20
Pick Lock (an average lock) 25
Locate hidden opening 20
Long Jump (20’ running start, per foot of distance to jump; Halflings add 5 to overall TN)* 1 High Jump (per unit equal to 1/2 of jumper’s height,
requires 20’ running start)* 8
Lore (common knowledge to a known specialty) 13 Lore (uncommon fact for known specialty) 18 Lore (obscure fact for known specialty) 25 Moving Silently ( Stealth - while alone - 5’/AP) 18 Perform (routine quality, earn up to 1d10 cp/day) 15 Perform (enjoyable quality, earn up to 1d10 bp/day) 20 Perform (excellent quality, earn up to 2d10 sp/day) 25
Riding (control mount in battle) 20
Tracking (soft ground) 18
Tracking (hard ground) 23
* = This is a cumulative modifier to the TN, for example, a 20’ Longjump would have a TN of 20 and a TN of 25 for Halflings.
C
ommonm
odiFieRsCondition TN Mod Combat Situation
In melee (actually fighting) +10 Surrounded by melee +5 Under Ranged Attack +3
Lighting (if needed)
Heavy Shadows +3
Dark (night, no moon) +5 Pitch Dark (no light) +10
Movement Tasks
Loose footing (scree, etc) +3 Light Obstructions +5 Heavy Obstructions +8 Slightly Slippery (wet floor) +3 Very Slippery (ice sheet) +5
Angled or Sloped +3
Perception Tasks
Hear through door +5
Hear through a stone wall +15 Per every 10’ to sound +1 Tracking in light rain +5 Tracking in heavy rain +12
Generic
Minor Complication +3 Major Complication +5
It will take practice to learn how to properly set the Target Numbers of tasks. The Common Tasks table contains a list of some of the more common actions that the characters might perform, and their Target Numbers. This table also provides the GM with a guideline for determining the Target Numbers of tasks not on the list because it gives him some baselines from which to compare other possible actions. Common modiFieRs
Once the GM has determined the base difficulty of the task, the next step is to apply any modifiers to the TN of the task that might apply. Usually, these will depend upon the situation. The most common modifiers apply to whether or not the character attempting the task is in a combat related situation and whether or not he has enough light to properly perform the task.
Since it is impossible to predict each and every thing that might possibly impact on a character’s ability to perform a given task, we also provide some generic modifiers that can be applied to almost any situation. They can be found on the Common
Modifiers table. These generic modifiers should be applied once
for each condition that affects the situation at hand.
s
nagsFor every full 10 points below the Target Number of a task that the character’s total roll is he earns one Snag Point. The Player must then immediately spend any Snag Points that he has earned by purchasing Snags from the Snags table (p. 123).
Not every Snag will be appropriate to the task being attempted, so the player will usually be limited in what Snags that he may choose. Once chosen, the GM, or the player if the GM allows, will then narrate the sequence of events detailing the specific results of the Snag.
As always, the GM is the one who decides if a specific Snag is appropriate for a given situation.
B
oonsFor every full 10 points over the Target Number of a task that the character’s total roll is he earns one Boon Point. The Player must then immediately spend any Boon Points that he has earned by purchasing one or more Boons from the appropriate Boon table; Combat, Magic or Skill. The Boon tables can be found starting on p. 122.
Not every Boon will be appropriate to every situation. It is up to the GM to make the final determination about