All characters, settings, copyrights and trademarks contained in this document are the property of J.K. Rowling and/or Warner Brothers.
Introduction
This is Harry Potter: The Roleplaying Game. It uses the Cortex Plus Dramatic Roleplaying system from Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. Sources for this rulebook are J.K. Rowling’s seven Harry Potter books by, the two “Harry’s Books” books written for Comic Relief, and the book, Beadle the Bard. In the few cases where a species of creature or a character is not fully described in these books, the gaps were filled in with information from the movie. Where the movie and the books disagree, the books are considered the ultimate authority. In a very few instances, the online transcripts of J.K. Rowling’s various interviews were utilized. Being possibly the best Harry Potter-related resource site on the web, the Harry Potter Lexicon (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/) filled in gaps other research missed. Also, the official Harry Potter website, Pottermore (https://www.pottermore.com/en-us), was used. Lastly, the PlayStation 3 games, Wonderbook: Book of Spells and Wonderbook: Book of Potions, was used.
Character Creation
Creating a Character: Phase 1 – Pathways
Generate Attributes, Distinctions, and Traits (Assets & Complications) based upon the Pathway guidelines.
Pathways represent actual life experiences that characters evolve themselves from, sometimes these experiences will provide positive gains and others can create negative gains. During character creation, players will be given the choice of 5 Pathways: Birth-Right, Upbringing, Focus, Motivations, and Identity. Each Pathway will construct the basics of the player character, shaped to best fit the player’s idea. Overall, Pathways are the means for the GM to shape the characters within his story, bestowing at integral moments a Pathway which will alter player characters for better or worse. Pathways come in a variety of themes, which are Birth-right, Upbringing, Focus, Motivations, Identity, Behavior, Priorities, Perils, and Events.
How Pathways Work: Pathways will usually increase or decrease player abilities, assets, complications, or distinctions. Listed within a Pathway are the descriptions of what is gained or taken from a player character and will be expanded upon in detail in each Pathway Section.
Squares () represent people. Diamonds () represent places. Circles () represent things. Distinctions
Distinctions represent a feature that distinguishes a character’s life, they are Relationships, Resources, and Values.
Relationships represent the non-player characters and creatures that are tied to the player closely. They know the player through emotional bonding and will willing go out of their way to provide the player with a means to an end.
Resources are means that are available to a character that can affect them in many ways good or bad as sometimes a resource itself may be counter to what is happening. Locations, Extras, and Objects are resources a character may possess.
Locations represent a place that is tied to the character. If applicable a character may use these places as a means to an end. “I’m always at home in a library so studying this book is easy.” “Avalon gives me strength to destroy the evil before me.”
Extras represent non-player characters or creatures that are tied to the player character. They know of the player character, but only as contacts or acquaintances and may hinder or aid as a means. “You’re Harry Potter; of course I’ll help the great Harry Potter!” “That falcon and I are rivals; I don’t know why, but sometimes he defends me and other times he steals my stuff.”
Objects represent physical non-living items that are tied to the Player Character which operate as a means. These objects can be as simple as mundane and common items or even magical and wondrous artifacts. “I have a cloak of invisibility I think I can sneak by Fluffy easy.” “The philosopher stone can extend my life and give me great health.”
Values are moral principles upon which a character places great importance. These include: Duty, Glory, Justice, Love, Power and Truth.
Duty represents a character’s importance to obligation, service, responsibility and commitment. “I will live up to my family name.” or “I won’t let my friends down, I have to keep them safe.”
Glory represents a character’s importance to honor, distinction, credit, renown, and fame. “I am the best potion maker in world.” “Maybe you’ve heard of me? I am the slayer of Grobkin the Witchslayer.”
Justice represents a character’s importance to fairness, righteousness, and integrity. “I do what I think is right.” “His acts warrant punishment; no person should be allowed to do whatever they want and suffer no consequence.”
Love represents a character’s importance to affection, caring, kinship, and devotion. “I’ve been through a lot, but I know I can count on my friends and family.” “I’ll never be alone in my struggles; I have friends and family who are with me where ever I go.”
Power represents a character’s importance to control, influence, command, and clout. “I need that wand; with it I will be unstoppable.” “My magical talents are beyond any of my class, now feel the might of my magic.”
Truth represents a character’s importance to fact, certainty, legitimacy, and sincerity. “Something is not right here; I’ll get to the bottom of it.” “History has taught us that this has happened before, and it will happen again”
Birth-Right
Birth-Right represents the blood heritage of a player character which ties them to the magical world and grants them their Magical Talent. Birth-Rights are Muggle-Born, Half-Blood, Pure-Blood, Half-Breed, or Orphan.
Birth-Right
All Attributes start at D4, Gain D4 Resource Magic
Muggle-Born Half-Blood Pure-Blood Orphan Half-Breed
Love or Truth D4 Glory or Truth D4 Duty or Power D4 Love or Justice D4 Love or Power D4 Infamy (Minor) Selfish (Minor) Arrogance (Minor) Shy (Minor) Memorable (Minor)
Relation D4 + Value x2 Asset (Minor) Resource D4 Resource D4 Muggle-Borns are wizards and witches who are born to two non-magical parents. Their magical abilities do not seem to be at all affected by their Muggle parentage – in fact, many Muggle-Borns have been among the most powerful witches and wizards of their time. Muggle-Muggle-Borns inherit magic from a distant ancestor; they are descended from Squibs who have married Muggles and whose families had lost the knowledge of their wizarding legacy. The magic resurfaces unexpectedly many generations later. Muggle-Borns tend to show great affection and love as well as curiosity and dedication to the truth. They carry a stigma in the wizarding world as “Mud-Blood” towards which the very isolated wizard community can be racist. Because they are unaware of the wizarding world and its traditions, Muggle-Born tend to form relationships faster than most and often form close bonds.
Half-Bloods are wizards and witches who have a Muggle/Muggle-Born parent and magical parent. By the 1990s, Half-Bloods were the most common type of magical person, as the wizarding population would have become extinct had they not inter-married with Muggles and Muggle-Borns. Half-Bloods tend to seek glory to prove themselves or they dedicate themselves to uncovering facts about magic. They often develop a selfish attitude that can be self-interested or egotistical. However, due to their mixed parentage and often unique outlook of living between 2 cultures, Half-Bloods tend to develop their core values more than any other magical born being, often displaying multiple strong values.
Pure-Bloods are wizards and witches who claim to be from families with purely magical heritage. This means that there are no Muggles in their family trees, but this is becoming rare, for if wizards don’t mate with Muggles their race would die out from the lack of magical pure breeding. Because the only way for a family to retain their pure-blood status is to marry other pure-bloods, all blood families were related to one another by the 1990s. Because of inbreeding among bloods and some marrying Muggles and Muggle-Borns, the number of families claiming to be pure-blood is declining. They tend to often develop a strong attachment to duty, as pure wizarding families believe in a standard to live up to. They also seem to develop a desire for power, wishing to showcase their heritage or demonstrate the power they were born with often seeing no reason to hold back what has been natural for them their whole lives. Due to the many standards pure-blood families have, many seem to become arrogant in some fashion, making claims or pretensions to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming things when they shouldn’t. Because they have the most developed lives of the wizarding world most often gain assets in many forms.
Half-Breed is a term given to humans with at least one non-human magical parent, although those with more distant non-human magical ancestry are also referred to as Half-Breed? Due to the nature of the non-human magical parent, all Half-Breeds will inherit the magical gene, even after many generations. There is a great deal of prejudice against Half-Breeds in the wizarding world, due to the discrimination against non-human beings in general. Due to the nature of their birth and parenting many Half-Breeds strongly develop a loving nature or attitude of power as most non-human magical beings are more dangerous than common wizards and witches. However, due to their non-human traits most are memorable and stick out preventing them from blending in or isolating themselves from others. They often possess unique resources from their non-magical parents far greater than others depicting their non-magical parent’s background.
Orphans are wizards and witches who, by unfortunate events, have no parents or records of them and therefore have no heritage from any wizarding family. By the 1990s, more and more orphan wizards are becoming common as the first wizarding war left many children without parents. Many Half-Blood or Muggle-born wizards left their children in the care of orphanages or foster parents to avoid the blood-hunts. Many wizards became irresponsible in abandoning their Muggle
relationships and those Muggle parents were unable to raise a magical child, thus abandoning them to orphanages. Due to their isolated and outcaste lifestyle many tend to either form strong relations to others or become obsessed with making things right in the world, sometimes either for good or worse. Often Orphans tend to find resources, magical or non-magical as they either have something left to them from their parents or are guided by their own magic to seek other magical forces.
Upbringing
Upbringing represents the way a child was raised, from their perceptions of the world, environment, and even discipline; this includes: Rich, Ordinary, Gifted, Strange, or Wizarding Relation.
Upbringing
Rich Ordinary Gifted Strange Wizarding Relation +Distinction +Distinction +Distinction +Distinction +Distinction
+Resource +Relationship +Distinction +Resource +Value
+Asset +Asset +Asset +Asset +Asset
Rich describes those that were raised with a distinction of having an excess or abundance of something. What they having can be from something as simple as money to something as immaterial as love and friendship. Regardless most rich people tend to have more than others and often find themselves elevated above others because of this.
Ordinary describes those that were raised as common and normal as a person should be raised. Most often have no special qualities of note but have the luxury of being in common-place with the majority of folk. Because they are easily approachable they tend to have more relationships than most.
Gifted describes those that were raised with unique qualities or interests, often being more exceptional than those around them. Their gifts can range from exceptional attributes to even unique hobbies that most avoid. Most tend to have great distinction and have accomplished much more early in life.
Strange describes those that are unique due to being or having unusual qualities or interests. Often strange folk find themselves alienated, yet they possess what almost no one else has. Much like those who are rich strangely raised fold gain resources albeit rather than being something that anyone can have it usually is something no one has easy access to.
Wizarding Relations describes those that are raised within the wizarding community or specific family and have a great tie to the wizard world through some means. Most tend have develop values based upon their family or community, distinction from the wizarding relation, or even a great asset. Most show a great understanding for the wizarding world and a deeper attachment to the history of magic.
Focus
Focus represents a subject that a player character concentrates upon as well as the depth of his fixation to said subject; this includes: Knowledge, Magical, Status, Life, and Hobby.
Focus
Knowledge Magical Status Life Hobby
+Int &
+Attribute +Will x2 +Awareness +Will & +Attribute & +Attribute +Attribute x 2 +Truth +Magic +Duty +Distinction +Distinction +Resource +Power +Relationship +Resource +Asset
Knowledge represents gathering and application of information through either experience or education. Those that fixate themselves to knowledge often have great intellect and personally develop other abilities to act as a companion to their studies. Those that think yet act fast develop agility; those that think and have patience possess strong willpower. Because they seek knowledge they cherish certainty and fact and often hold the value of truth. They also understand the need for resources and how they help accomplish the pursuit of knowledge and therefore gain more than others.
Magical represents the understanding, growth, and application of magic itself. Those that focus on magic often immerse themselves into the magical world’s mysteries learning what makes wands work, why magical creatures exists, or even creating new and more powerful spells. Because the use of magic is governed by willpower, most tend to grow and develop extreme levels of willpower and developing nothing else. The growth of one’s magic power resource is also increased as they unlock more of their natural magical talent. Because magic is power, many also gain stronger values for Power.
Status represents the relative social, professional, or personal standing of someone or something. Most tend to possess willpower and awareness, allowing them to perceive and impress themselves to the status at hand. Because upholding a status requires a specific way of conducting oneself, most grow in the value of duty. Status also tends to reflect one’s ability to fit in with the desired group; often they develop a relationship to reflect a belonging to the group.
Life represents the understanding and improvement of one’s physical, mental, or spiritual development. Because improvement of one’s life is so broad almost any ability can become greater than others, spiritualist often develop Willpower and Awareness, Mentalist develop Intellect and Willpower, physical people tend to be strength/agility or vitality. Because of their open life focus they develop distinctions that can range from anything that may benefit the growth of their lifestyle. Resources also play a part in the life focus, from extras, objects, to locations.
Hobby represents an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure. These activates can range from puzzle solving to arts and crafts. Because ones hobby takes up a lot of time, many will develop extreme levels of a single ability that helps them in performing their interests. They also develop distinctions that can vary from hobby to hobby as well as gaining assets that also reflect their interests.
Motivation
Motivation represents the psychological impulse that triggers one’s emotional desire to act. Others, Self, Causes, Tasks, World (As they grow and develop they will tend to improve upon abilities they believe will best aid in their motivations)
Motivation
Others Self Causes Task World
+Justice or
+Love +Glory or +Power +Duty or +Justice +Glory or +Truth +Duty or +Truth +Attribute +Attribute +Attribute +Attribute +Attribute
+Relationship or +Asset or +Resource
Others represents a character’s impulse towards others, for good or worse people seem to trigger something within which forces you to act. The triggers can be as simple as people who do something stupid make you mad, or someone is hurting and you have to help them. Most will often develop a sense of justice or strong devotion to those around them.
Self represents a character’s impulse to act upon their own needs be they for selfish reasons or for doing something that would help a situation. The triggers can range from wanting to keep their own money to refusing to allow a person to cheat because you don’t believe in cheating despite your friend possibly failing and being kicked out of school. Most will often develop their own form of honor, seek personal distinction or develop a strong need to be in control so that they are doing what they want.
Causes represents a character’s impulse to act upon a purpose or goal such as saving the whales or freeing the house elves. Most characters will develop a sense of obligation to their goals or purpose they have chosen and ensure that righteousness and sincerity are given to the task they set.
Task represents a character’s impulse to act upon a set work that has been assigned. Triggers range from taking orders to finishing homework before anything else. Most tend to develop the value of responsibility and commitment as well as the distinction of having their work given credit.
World represents a character’s impulse to act upon a earth and all the life within from its salvation to destruction. Triggers tend to be from stopping a world catastrophe or targeting a specific living group to ensure the world’s future. Characters will often dwell upon a sacred obligation and personal responsibility while others would seek to ensure that world itself knows of the facts and certainty that sits before it.
Identity
Identity represents the collected characteristics to describe the personality of an individual; this includes: Side-Kick, Foil, Rebel, Specialist, and Hero (characters will develop their abilities to best fit their personality being allowed to raise 2 separate abilities 1 die step).
Identity
Side-Kick Foil Rebel Specialist Hero
+Attribute & +Attribute
+Relations +Distinction +Value +Distinction +Attribute +Extra or
+Relationship
+Extra or
+Relationship +Location +Distinction +Resource +Resource or +Relationship
Side-Kick represents a person who frequently makes friends and accompanies others on adventures rather than being the one who seeks it. Most characters will develop a relationship with close friends and those that act first to fulfill themselves. Because characters make friends fast or accompany others on their adventures they either develop ties to an extra that can be of use later or increase their relationship level with others. Finally because they complete these adventures with others they sometimes gain a resource to use or even a raise or gain a new relationship.
Foil represents a person who frequently by contrast underscores or enhances the characteristics of others. Such as the fool who saves the hero’s life or the coward who seems to find the bad guys and in their fit of running away lures them into a trap. Usually their personality tends to grant them a distinction from improving their personal values, gaining a resource, or even developing a relationship. Like all characters the foil will either gain a resource to use or gain/improve a relationship.
Rebel represents a person who frequently defies accepted conventions, such as breaking the laws because he was told to follow them or fighting a bully regardless of the disadvantage because you would lose. Most characters will develop personal value that drives them to rebel from love of chaos to power to be different. Often rebels will develop an attachment to a place or territory where they feel they can be free and treat it as their own. Like all characters a rebel will find either a resource or develop a relationship that allows them to keep rebelling.
Specialist represents a person who frequently has knowledge and skill that pertains to a particular branch of activity from crafts to dark arts. Most will develop distinctions to which is proof of their specialized skill. Like all characters specialists will gain a resource or relationship that enhances their particular specialization in life.
Hero represents a person who frequently is endowed with feats of courage, nobility, strength of character and purpose. Most characters will develop abilities that will aid them in their endeavors. They will also gain a resource that represents their innate heroism. Like all characters the hero will either gain a resource or relationship that allows them to perform heroic tasks.
Behavior
Behavior represents the manner of which a player character acts and reacts to environmental triggers; these include: Reliable/Loyalty, Shady, Against the Grain, Outside Normal, and Special Gifts. The GM may choose how many bonuses are given for a Pathway (minimum of 1).
Behavior
Reliability/Loyalty Shady Against the Grain Outside Normal Special Gifts ±Duty or ±Love ±Glory or
±Power ±Justice or ±Truth ±Justice or ±Power ±Duty or ±Glory ±Distinction or +Asset or +Complication
Priority
Priority represents the order of importance and urgency a player places on them; these include: Friends & Family, Work, Moving On, Looking Back, and Performance. The GM may choose how many bonuses are given for a Pathway (minimum of 1).
Priorities
Friends &
Family Work Moving On
Looking
Back Performance ± Duty or
±Love ± Power or ±Truth ±Glory or ±Justice ±Love or ±Truth ±Duty or ±Glory ±Distinction
±Extra ±Location ±Extra ±Location ±Extra
Peril
Peril represents the degree in which players expose themselves to harm or loss; these include: Risky, Straight, Lofty, Unforeseen, Ethical. The GM may choose how many bonuses are given for a Pathway (minimum of 1).
Peril
Risky Straight Lofty Unforeseen Ethical
±Glory or ±Power ±Duty or ±Love ±Glory or ±Truth ±Justice or ±Truth ±Justice or ±Love ±Resource ±Relationship ±Resource ±Relationship ±Relationship
±Distinction or ±Asset or ±Complication Events
Events represent a significant occurrence or happening that takes place in a player’s life; these include: Advancement, Tragedy, Manifestation, First Contact, and Destiny. The GM may choose how many bonuses are given for a Pathway (minimum of 1).
Events
Advancement Tragedy Manifestation First Contact Destiny ±Glory x2 or ±Power x2 ±Justice x2 or ±Love x 2 ±Power ±Duty x2 or ±Truth x 2 ±Duty
± Value ± Value ± Value x 2 ± Value ±Value x 2
± Distinction ± Distinction ±Attribute ±Distinction or ±Attribute or ±Birth-Right and +Asset ±Location ±Relationship x 2 ±Attribute or ±Distinction ±Relationship x 3 ±Resource ± Relationship or ±Asset or
±Resource ±Location x 2 ±Resource
±Relationship or ±Asset or
Creating a Character: Phase 2 – Skills
Determine your character’s skills; starting characters receive 56 skill points.
Skills are rated as die types, starting with a D2 and progressing upward. Skills theoretically have no upper limit – but there is one hitch in the progression. Skills are divided into three types: General Skills, Exceptional Skills, and Specialty Skills.
Skill Level Die Type Proficiency None (D0) Untrained D2 Incompetent D4 Novice D6 Competent D8 Professional D10 Expert D12 Master D12+ Supreme
General Skills represent broad bases of knowledge. They cover many individual activities, and let characters be competent at a field without being particularly gifted at any one thing. However, because they are so broad in scope, they are also limited in depth: General Skills cannot advance beyond D6. Your character can purchase General Skills normally from D2–D6, but if he wants to progress beyond that boundary, he has to pick individual Specialties.
Exceptional Skills represent broad bases of academia specifically present within Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. They cover many individual activities, and let characters be competent at a field without being particularly gifted at any one thing. However, because they are so broad in scope, they are also limited in depth: Exceptional Skills cannot advance beyond D4. Your character can purchase Exceptional Skills normally from D2–D4, but if he wants to progress beyond that boundary, he has to pick individual Specialties.
Specialty Skills are much more narrow and focused. Creatures is a General Skill, and lets your character train, care, breed, or raise of animals. However, the Animal Care Specialty only covers caring for animals. The benefit of Specialties is that, in game terms, they pick up where General Skills leave off – they start at D8 (or D6 in the case of Exceptional Skills) and progress upward from there, letting your character keep improving.
Each Specialty you purchase has to be assigned to an appropriate General Skill, and you cannot purchase Specialties under a General Skill until it has reached the D6 level. For example, your character cannot have the General Skill Athletics D4 and purchase the Specialty Skill Running D8; he would first have to advance his Athletics to D6, at which point he could then buy any Specialties under Athletics. There is no limit to the number of Specialties you can have under a given General Skill. Also, Specialties have no upper limit, save that characters cannot start with any above D12. So, to continue that example, your character could eventually learn enough about Athletics to achieve the Skills Athletics D6/Running D12 + D4/Climbing D10/Dodge D10, given time and determination.
To buy Skills, spend your character’s starting Skill Points. Just remember: You only need to pay for the General Skill once, but the Specialties under it each need to be bought individually. For example, a street thug’s D6 in Combat costs 6 Skill Points, but the Specialty of D10 in Clubs only costs an additional 4 Skill Points, since he’s already paid for the first D6. Adding in other Specialties
would work the same way: A D8 in Knife would cost 2 more Skill Points, and a D12 in Chains would cost 6.
General Skill of D6 (6 Points) + Specialty D8 (2 Points) + Specialty D10 (4 Points) + Specialty D12 (6 Points) = 18 Skill Points total. Things would be much different if he had to pay full price for Specialties!
Skill Costs
Die Type General Cost Exceptional Cost Specialty Cost
D2 2 2 – D4 4 4 – D6 6 – – D8 – – 2 D10 – – 4 D12 – – 6 D12 + D2 – – 8 D12 + D4 – – 10 Artistry
Artistry is the Skill that covers artistic expression with media, from writing fiction to sculpting marble statues. It does not cover singing, dancing, or acting, which are all grouped under Performance, though it does include composing music and choreographing a dance recital.
Specialties: Appraisal, Cooking, Composition, Forgery, Painting, Photography, Poetry, Sculpture, Writing.
Athletics
Working out, staying in shape, and moving out of harm’s way usually all involve Athletics. Physical coordination, distance running, and other major activities make frequent use of this Skill.
Specialties: Climbing, Contortion, Dodge, Juggling, Jumping, Gymnastics, Parachuting, Riding, Running, Sports (choose one), Swimming, Weight Lifting.
Combat
This Skill provides proficient with personal firearms, basic proficiency with knives, clubs, swords, and anything else you can swing, poke, or bludgeon with in a fight, and covers the use of hurled or physically propelled weapons such as throwing axes, slings, spears, and bows.
Specialties: Assault Rifle, Blowguns, Bolos, Bows, Chains, Clubs, Crossbows, Darts, Grenades, Intimidation, Javelin, Knives, Machine Gun, Pistol, Pole Arms, Repair, Repair, Rifle, Shields, Shotgun, Slings, Sniper Rifle, Swords, Throwing Knives, and Whips.
Covert
Covert covers both physical and mental expressions of deception, whether in a criminal sense or as a means of evading and overcoming obstacles.
Specialties: Camouflage, Disguise, Forgery, Pickpocketing, Sabotage, Safecracking, Stealth, Streetwise.
Craft is the application of a trade toward the creation of something useful. It differs from Artistry in that the result of a Craft action is something of utility rather than artistic expression, although there are several occasions where the two may overlap.
Specialties: Architecture, Brewing, Carpentry, Cooking, Leatherworking, Metalworking, Pottery, Sewing.
Creatures
This Skill covers the training, care, breeding, or raising of animals of all kinds, including magical creatures.
Specialties: Animal Care, Animal Training, Riding, Veterinary Medicine, Zoology. Discipline
This Skill is used to resist temptation, torture, and fear – and possibly to scare others in the manner you’ve been taught to resist. By yelling or coaxing, you can try to keep others on a focused path.
Specialties: Concentration, Interrogation, Intimidation, Leadership, Morale, Resistance. Dueling
Since most spells in the World of Harry Potter are treated as missile spells, this skill is vital for Wizards to target the spell.
Specialties: Fast Draw, Spell (pick one). Flying (Skilled Use Only)
If you have this Skill you understand how to control magical flying craft under adverse conditions and deal with small problems.
Specialties: Broomstick, Flying Carpet, Hoverboard. Herbology
This is the scientific study of magical flora. It includes some knowledge of how to care for magical plants, as well as knowledge of how to handle them safely. This skill also covers growing and preparing magical and mundane plants for magical use.
Specialties: Flowering Plants, Water Plants. Influence
Influence lets you win friends, lie to enemies, and persuade potential allies to join your cause. This can be especially important in a political situation, where the right words can escalate or diffuse a problem in moments. This Skill also helps when your opponent has all the guns, or when you need to deal with social bureaucracy.
Specialties: Administration, Barter, Bureaucracy, Conversation, Interrogation, Intimidation, Leadership, Persuasion, Politics, Seduction.
This Skill covers a wide base of general, non-magical knowledge. It is almost entirely academic in nature, which means that while you may know the theory behind many other Skills, you can’t simply default to this Skill when actually attempting something practical.
Specialties: Appraisal, Culture, Folklore, History, Law, Literature, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Sports.
Languages (Exceptional)
In addition to the mundane languages found on earth, magically-aware beings can also learn magical languages. The language of the goblins is Gobbledygook; the language of the Merfolk is Mermish. Other intelligent (or semi-intelligent) creatures might also have their own languages.
Specialties: Gobbledygook, Mermish. Lore (Exceptional)
This Skill covers a wide base of general, magical knowledge. It is almost entirely academic in nature, which means that while you may know the theory behind many other Skills, you can’t simply default to this Skill when actually attempting something practical.
Specialties: Hogwarts.
Medicine (Skilled Use Only)
You have the training required to patch people back together, treat disease, or work in a medical environment. You might not be a doctor, officially, but you’re quite capable of stepping in to help others. With a D6 level in this Skill, you are most likely licensed to practice medicine (or the equivalent in your setting), while further Specialties allow for specialist practitioners.
Specialties: Dentistry, First Aid, Forensics, General Practice, Genetics, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Pharmaceuticals, Physiology, Psychiatry, Rehabilitation, Surgery, Toxicology, Veterinary Medicine.
Muggle (Skilled Use Only)
Operating Muggle devices are within your area of expertise if you have a rating in this Skill. Specialties: Computers, Insight, Rubber Ducks.
Perception
This Skill lets you notice someone sneaking around, find a hidden clue, or spot the “tell” when your opponent is bluffing. It’s especially important in investigative or action-oriented campaign settings. If you have a professional rating in this Skill, your senses have been honed to a significant level, although Specialties reflect that even the most astute individual must focus his talents somewhere.
Specialties: Deduction, Empathy, Gambling, Hearing, Intuition, Investigation, Read Lips, Search, Sight, Smell/Taste, Tactics, Tracking.
Performance
Dancing, singing, acting, playing an instrument, and other forms of physical expression are covered by this Skill. It’s also what you use to tell a convincing lie, which can go a long way toward
getting you out of a tight spot. Performance does not cover the composition or planning of performances, which is part of Artistry, although there is some degree of overlap (Improvisation, for instance, is all Performance.)
Specialties: Acting, Dancing, Costuming, Impersonation, Instrument (pick one), Oratory, Singing, Sleight of Hand, Stage Magic.
Potions (Exceptional/Skilled Use Only)
This skill is the study of the ingredients, brewing, and preparation of potion and elixirs. Specialties: Potion (pick one).
Prophecy (Skilled Use Only)
This skill is the study of the myriad ways to predict the future. Specialties: Crystal Ball, Tea Leaves, Tarot Reading.
Spellcraft (Exceptional)
This skill is the study of the “science” behind magic. A successful roll vs. this skill will allow a Wizard to determine whether a particular spell is possible, and if it is, how he might go about casting it. In addition, as spells are essential in the World of Harry Potter, this skill is vital for mages to cast a spell.
Specialties: Charms, Conjuration, Curses, Hexes, Jinxes, Mind, Transfiguration. Survival
With this Skill, you can find food, water, shelter, and your way around when civilization isn’t available. You can even stay alive in the face of extremes of weather or when hindered by minor injuries.
Specialties: Camouflage, Find Shelter, First Aid, Foraging, Outdoor Life, Specific Environment, Tracking, Trapping, Woodcraft.
Creating a Character: Phase 3 – Hogwarts House Sorting
Characters will be sorted into one of the 4 great houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Players will be adding a new Pathway to their character and record any bonuses given from their house.
Over 1000 years ago, the four greatest Wizards of the day established the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry in wilds of northern Britain; they were Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazaar Slytherin. For many years they oversaw the small school, teaching its students the ins and outs of magic of the day, until one day when Salazaar Slytherin decided that there were too many students to teach at the academy. So he suggested that the school should establish restrictions be set upon those who entered – only pureblooded Wizards. The other three didn’t agree with this idea, especially Godric Gryffindor, who thought that any that were so gifted have the right to receive the same education if they sought it. In the end, Salazaar left the school for whereabouts unknown. Not wanting to set a bad precedent, Godric took his hat from his head, laid a peculiar enchantment upon it, and ever since the students of Hogwarts have been separated into four houses representing the ideals of each of the four founders.
Gryffindor
Those who have been chosen to be a part of Gryffindor House have such qualities that Godric, himself, embodied: honor, courage, and forthrightness. If you are of this house, you are be expected to be trustworthy and brave, but know when to break the rules when it’s necessary to do what is right.
Preferred Values: Justice or Love.
Bonus: Asset: Natural Leader (Minor), Relationship or Extra: Animal Companion +2 step bonus.
Hufflepuff
Those who have been chosen to join the Hufflepuff House are renowned for their hardy work ethic and steadfastness. Though maybe simple or naive, a Hufflepuff remains true and loyal to the end.
Preferred Values: Duty or Love.
Bonus: Resource: Attuned to Nature +2 step bonus, Relationship or Extra: Animal Companion +2 step bonus.
Ravenclaw
Students who are intelligent, studious, and resourceful generally are found in the house of Ravenclaw. A quick wit and the timely spell are the signatures of a member of the Ravenclaw House.
Preferred Values: Duty or Truth.
Bonus: Asset: highly educated (Minor), Relationship or Extra: Animal companion +2 step bonus.
Slytherin
The snake isn’t the symbol of the Slytherin House just because its founder could speak with them; it is the embodiment of what those chosen in the house stand for: cunning, guile, and always ready to strike when an opportunity presents itself. Scheming in dark corners and bullying others is just a taste of what makes up a typical Slytherin.
Preferred Values: Glory or Power.
Bonus: Asset: Formidable Presence (Minor). Relationship or Extra: Animal Companion +2 step bonus.
Creating a Character: Phase 4 – Wand
Determine your character’s Wand Attributes. Wand Attributes are separated into 7 spell types: Charms, Conjuration, Curses, Hexes, Jinxes, Mind, and Transfiguration. When generating Wand Attributes wands may have a ± value no greater than 2 per attribute, but the sum of all Wand Attributes must be equal to zero.
Creating a Character: Phase 5 – Computing Derived Attributes
Life Points are a measure of how much damage you can take before falling unconscious or dying. Whenever you get fried by magic, get punched, or fall down the stairs, you accumulate points of Stun (nonlethal or temporary damage) and Wound (lethal or long-term damage). When these
equal or exceed your Life Points, you probably go down. You can find your Life Points by adding up the maximum values of your Vitality and Willpower dice, along with any modifiers from Traits. For example, a character with D10 Vitality and D6 Willpower would have 16 Life Points.
Initiative is a roll that decides who goes first, or whether or not you can react in time. You make Initiative rolls at the start of combat or similar time-constrained situations. When the GM asks for an Initiative roll, he wants you to roll your Agility + Alertness dice and total the results. Higher is better – you want to go first as often as possible! You might also make Initiative rolls to determine your reaction time. Do you dive behind cover before the grenade goes off? If it’s possible, you roll your Initiative against the grenade thrower’s attack roll, and hope you win. Record your character’s Agility + Alertness dice, along with any modifications from Traits, as his Initiative.
Endurance keeps you from going down when you should – for example, when you rack up all those points of Stun and Wounds. Record your Willpower + Vitality dice for your Endurance, modified by any Traits. Just like Initiative, when you roll, higher is better!
Resistance is similar to Endurance, but while Endurance tracks a measure of how determined you are to live, Resistance is simply your ability to fight off infection and disease. Record your Vitality + Vitality dice, modified by any Traits, for your Resistance.
Game Basics
Dice
Dice form an ascending scale of ability and are assigned to Attributes, Skills, Distinctions, and Traits. Each die type, from two-sided (D2) up through twelve-sided (D12), represents a “step” on this scale. Higher steps, in general, represent greater ability, skill, damage, or whatever; a D6 is better than a D4, and a D8 is better than a D6. This scale can even extend above D12. At that point, a second die is added, making the next step “D12 + D2.” That makes the first eight steps as follows:
D2, D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D12 + D2, D12 + D4, etc.
There is, theoretically, no upper limit, though it would be rare for anything to have a rating higher than D12 to begin with.
Most actions call for an Attribute die and a Skill die to be rolled and the results added together. If your character doesn’t have the right Skill (but is still allowed to try it – some actions require the proper training), roll only the Attribute. The character might have a Trait that helps out, or even more than one Trait. And if that doesn’t seem like it’ll be enough, there are ways to influence the outcome by spending Plot Points to gain a bonus die.
Changes to rolls that make tasks harder or easier are called step modifiers, and described in terms of positive and negative steps. These modifiers move the die type up or down the scale. For example, a –1 step would turn a D6 into a D4; a +2 step would turn a D6 into a D10, and so on. While dice can be reduced below D2, at that point they become negated entirely (D0), and any further penalty is ignored.
Attributes
Agility covers quickness and physical coordination, both in terms of balance and hand-eye work. A high Agility lets you shoot first and ask questions later. A low score means you might not be able to get that gun out of your holster in time to worry about shooting.
Strength represents the physical brawn of your character, how much muscle he has and how well toned it is. A high Strength lets you kick down doors, throw a solid punch, or bench press more than the other guy. A low Strength might give you trouble with the kickback of even a small pistol and make it difficult to carry luggage.
Vitality measures general toughness and health. A character with high Vitality will be hard to take down, and even harder to keep down. He can drink all night, work all day, and take hits that would put down a lesser person. If you’ve got low Vitality, though, you need to watch yourself near sick people, and probably avoid highly dangerous work.
Alertness represents your ability to observe, understand, and intuit what is going on around you. A high Alertness score lets you hear someone sneaking up on you, detect the lie in the answer to your question, or notice that someone might not be exactly what they seem. A low score could mean that you don’t see the sniper in time, fail to detect the oncoming spatial vortex, or slip on a patch of ice while out jogging.
Intelligence gives a measure of simple brainpower – your ability to think, reason, and remember. A high Intelligence makes you bright, inventive, and capable of dealing with complex information. A character with a low Intelligence score might need to consult a dictionary on a regular basis, and might have trouble with dangerous machinery.
Willpower represents your determination, how forceful your personality and will are. If you have a high score in Willpower you can more easily resist intimidation, torture, and hardship, convince someone to do what you want through sheer charisma, and push yourself farther than most would expect. A low Willpower would make it easier to take advantage of you, push you around, and even kill you.
Traits
Your character should be much more than a collection of numbers. While in the terms of the Cortex System most things that describe your character may be thought of as Attributes and Skills, sometimes he has less definable qualities. Is he half-human, half-faerie? Does he assume he’s so badass he can’t lose? If he dies, does he always come back again? These are the kinds of things we call Traits.
Traits are broken down into two categories: Assets, which are generally positive Traits, and Complications, which are generally negative. Traits are measured from Minor to Major. Characters may only possess 5 total Assets and 5 total Complications at character creation.
Traits have a variety of different effects. Some provide a bonus or penalty to actions by letting you add the Trait’s die to the roll. Others allow occasional rerolls for failed results or change the basic rules in some other way. This rulebook contains a broad range of Traits, but each Cortex System campaign setting should have its own unique Assets and Complications specific to the needs of the genre that is represented.
Assets
Animagus (Major)
This extraordinary ability allows you the ability to transform into a Muggle animal. To determine what kind of animal, roll 1D6 for each table below.
Roll Type of Animal 1 Insect/Arachnid 2–3 Reptile
Roll Type of Animal 6 Bird
Roll Size of Animal (except Insect) 1 Little
2–3 Small 4–5 Medium
6 Large
It costs two actions to change form from human to animal or vice-versa. If you do not register yourself with the Ministry of Magic, you will acquire the Infamy Complication (D8) when your secret is discovered.
Born With Wings (Minor/Major)
Minor: You never needed to learn to fly as you are more at home when at the controls of a magical flying device. You gain a +2 step bonus to the objects agility when you are at the controls.
Major: When increasing your flying skill you spend 1 less Growth Point. Destiny (Major)
** Only Selectable at Character Creation**
Major: You have fate on your side, for good or worse you were born to perform a special task. When performing any action that goes towards completing your destiny you gain a +1 step bonus on all rolls. You also receive the Destiny Pathway, though the GM has final decision on how your destiny shapes your character Pathway and may only choose
Early Start (Minor)
** Only Selectable at Character Creation**
Whether because you have a doting relative or a proclivity towards magic, you may begin the game with three Common Tier I spells.
Fast Learner (Major)
Major: When buying spells or skills you spend 1 less Growth Point. Friends in High Places (Minor/Major)
Minor: You know important people, those people know important people. You dine with Ministry heads, play Wizard chess with members of the governor’s board, and take holidays with prominent Wizarding people. When you need a favor or access to learn a spell you know those who are willing and able to help. This Trait level unlocks access to objects and Spells that are uncommon, restricted, and illegal. Gaining resources or spells in this fashion however doesn’t mean you are legally licensed to use them and therefore they still require the proper assets to avoid legal ramifications.
Major: Once per session you can gain access to a temporary Distinction at a D6 to be used with a plot point. Regardless of success this Distinction will no longer be available to you. Also note that the GM may decide that the player owes someone or something for their aid, especially if it places them in a difficult position such as asking the minister of magic to remove an outstanding warrant as this places him in an unwelcome scenario of explaining his actions.
Minor: You have contacts that have contacts that are connected to the shady, criminal and underworld of the Wizarding world. They are artifact dealers, black market herbologists, dark Wizards, and etc… they can set you up with jobs, tip you off to the latest word on the street, and even offer you first-buy on recently acquired goods. When you need a favor or access to resources or spells, you know the right people who are willing to help you. This trait will unlock access to objects and spells that are uncommon, restricted and illegal. However anything acquired in this fashion doesn’t mean you are legally licensed to use them and even worse you are unable to explain where you learned them when you do acquire the licenses.
Major: Once per session you can gain access to a D6 resource that can be used without a plot point, regardless of success this resource will no longer be available to you. Also note that the Gm may decide that players be indebted to someone or something for their service, especially if it places them in harm’s way such as a known black market goods seller having to visit Hogwarts to give a student goods.
Highly Educated (Minor)
Minor: you are good in school, actually pay attention to teachers and retain what you learned. Through your extensive learning experience you can often recall information. You gain a +2 step bonus to Intelligence for any knowledge or Lore based skill roll. However this will not help you perform physical actions requiring the knowledge for example a doctor would be able to use this trait to identify and match symptoms to an illness, but it would not apply to the doctor’s treatment of the patient.
Inner Eye (Minor/Major)
** Only Selectable at Character Creation**
You have been gifted with the rare and powerful gift of foresight, the ability to read into the future. They come as a result of dreams, or from touching objects or people. They may even show up as cryptic statements in newspaper and magazine articles that only you may figure out.
Minor: At this level, you have no control over your foresight. It may come at any time, appearing to you when you least expect it. The visions might be of events years in advance, or as soon as an hour or two. The GM secretly rolls the character’s Awareness + Prophecy (appropriate specialty) TN 11 (Hard). The exact details are up to the GM, but your special insight and advance knowledge grants a +2 die step to actions that this insight might help with. If you succeed at the action, you don’t get any more benefit until your next vision; if the action fails, the bonus die carries over to the next related action.
Major: If you have Inner Eye at this level, you may try to pick up a reading or a flash of a future event by concentrating. Spend 1 plot point and Make a TN 11 (Hard) Awareness + Prophecy (appropriate specialty) roll to get a vision about something specific. The GM can drop any hints or warnings into this image that he likes, and it is not set in stone. You may still have a chance to change it. Like the Minor version of this ability, you gain bonus dice to a later Skill roll or action. Innate Magical Talent (Minor/Major)
Minor: You possess an uncanny affinity for magic and gain a +2 step bonus to the Magic Resource when used with a plot point.
Major: When increasing your magic resource you spend 1 less Growth Point. Legilimens License (Minor)
Legilimency is the act of magically navigating through the many layers of a person’s mind and correctly interpreting one’s findings. A person who is authorized to practice this art is known as a
Legilimens. Laymen sometimes refer to Legilimency as “mind-reading,” but practitioners disdain this term as naive. The opposite of Legilimency is Occlumency, which may be used to shield one’s mind from the invasion and influence of a Legilimens. Having a license allows a character to learn the spell Legilimens without restriction as well as being allowed to legally use it; however players may still be punished by the Ministry of Magic for improper misuse and abuse of the spell.
Lightning Reflexes (Minor)
Minor: You possess a heightened ability to react to your environment. When calculating initiative you may add +2 step bonus to your Agility attribute.
Licensed to Apparate (Minor)
Apparating is the most advanced means of magical travel in the wizard world. All other means are either slower or require the use of magical objects. An apparating wizard disapparates (disappears) from one place and apparates (reappears) in another place almost instantaneously, effectively teleporting.
Apparating is tricky and an improper attempt can cause severe bodily damage, hopefully reversible by the Ministry of Magic’s Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. As such, it’s strictly restricted to adults and requires a license (issued by the Department of Magical Transport upon the passage of an Apparition Test) that’s analogous to a driving license in the Muggle world.
For more information, see Teleporting Charm. Luck (Minor/Major)
Minor: Luck has taken a liking to you; things just always seem to go your way. You may once per session re-roll a die roll and take the higher of the results.
Major: You may gain an additional re-roll per session. Magical Empathy (Minor/Major)
Minor: Magic itself attunes to you; you have a way with spells, creatures, objects, and locations that goes beyond the standard instruction. You are most comfortable when you are surrounded by the magical world and its wonders. For a cost of given plot points (as determined by the GM: see the table for guidance), you may gain an intuitive knowledge and insight as to what is going on with a particular magical presence.
Major: you may also receive a +2 step bonus to attributes on any action dealing with said magical presence; however certain unusual circumstance might block this ability. (Creature turns out to be an illusion)
Plot Points Nature of Problem
1–2 Minor Problem (magic depletion, crack on the wand) 3–4 Moderate Problem (exhausted enchantment, aged wood) 5–6 Major Problem (broken wand, hexed or cursed,) Natural Leader (Minor)
Minor: You are capable of motivating and inspiring others. Once per session you may grant one other person a +2 step bonus increase to a skill when performing a specific task.
Metamorphmagus (Major)
** Only Selectable at Character Creation**
This extraordinary ability allows you to change your physical body at will, allowing a +2 step bonus to the Covert/Disguise and Performance/Impersonation skills. If you only have a picture of
the person, you will not be able to alter your voice to theirs; similarly, if you don’t know what they look like, but have only a sample of their voice, you can’t appear like them. It costs 1 action to alter your appearance. You are also limited to a ±10% body size alternation. Also you reduce the costs of improving Covert/Disguise and Performance/Impersonation skills by 1 Growth Point.
Rank (Minor/Major)
Minor: You are a common member of a powerful and influential group, from the Ministry of Magic to even a secret society. You gain a +2 step bonus on willpower when using discipline skills towards those that respect or acknowledge your position
Major: You are a high ranking member of a power and influential group and receive a +2 step bonus on willpower when using influence skills towards those that respect or acknowledge your position.
Signature Spell (Minor/Major)
Minor: You have mastered and frequently used specific spells that have become your personal spell of choice in any situation. People often recognize your ability to cast these spells. You select 3 spells of any tier and immediately reduce their difficulty to activate by 1 level to a minimum of TN 3.
Major: You may add an additional 3 spells to your signature list. Social Confidence (Minor/Major)
Minor: You believe in your friends and they believe in you. You gain great strength from your values when it’s for the sake of others. You gain a +1 step bonus to Values when used on any action that pertains to others regardless if it’s good or bad.
Major: You increase your bonus by an additional +1 step bonus. Special License (Minor)
Minor: You have been given exclusive permission by the Ministry to use illegal resources or spells; however improper use or abuse may result in having the license revoked by the ministry. Unshakable Will (Minor/Major)
Minor: You possess a level of mental resolve that allows you to be absolutely resolute. This Trait equates to a +2 step bonus to willpower on discipline based skills.
Major: Same as above except decrease the cost to improve willpower by 1 Growth Point. Wandless Magic (Minor)
You have learned to cast spells without using wand gestures and ignore the penalty for doing so. This asset should not be taken easily and is considered very advanced. This asset is normally taught and available to 6th year students or those of age 16+. Only through special GM approval should it
be taken before then.
Wordless Magic (Minor)
You have learned to cast spells without using words of power and ignore the penalty for doing so. This asset should not be taken easily and is considered very advanced. This asset is normally taught and available to 6th year students or those of age 16+. Only through special GM approval
should it be taken before then. Complications
Minor: You have or display a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance, usually perceived as conceited pompous, overbearing, pride, and etc.… This Trait equates to a –1 step penalty to Willpower when using influence or discipline skills.
Major: Same as above except increase the penalty by an additional –1 step penalty. Culturally Awkward (Minor/Major)
Minor: You are ignorant of a culture in which you were not raised. This Trait equates to a –1 step penalty to all actions involving that culture’s related Knowledge skills or Influence skills when dealing with a person from that culture.
Major: Same as above except increase the penalty by an additional –1 step penalty. Enemy (Minor/Major)
Minor: Your have earned the enmity and hatred of someone or something that actively seeks to harm you. Your enemy will only seek to attack you if you once per D6+3 game sessions.
Major: your enemy will stop at nothing to kill you, he actively plots your downfall at all times and regardless of your presence they will take every opportunity to attack you once every 3 game sessions.
Infamy (Minor/Major)
Minor: You are a bad person and everyone knows it. You have gained a bad reputation fairly earned or not. You suffer a –2 step penalty to any skill during social interaction with those that know of your misdeeds.
Major: Everyone knows of your misdeeds and you are always affected by your status. Memorable (Minor)
Minor: You are easy to recognize or pick out of a crowd as something about you is very distinct. This could range from a large nose, bushy beard, height, or even striking beauty. When being spotted by others they gain a +2 step bonus to Alertness attribute.
Rival (Minor/Major)
Minor: you have someone or something that has taken to competing with you in a particular subject to prove that they are better then you. At this level of the trait your rival will only infrequently affect you and will only act if you are in their presence.
Major: Your rival will stop at nothing to compete against you, regardless of your presence and takes every opportunity to challenge you.
Selfish (Minor/Major)
Minor: You are concerned chiefly or only with yourself and your advantage to the exclusion of others. This Trait equates to a –1 step penalty to the use a VALUE if the action is question may be negative to you.
Major: Same as above except increase the penalty by an additional –1 step penalty. Shy (Minor)
Minor: you are uncomfortable when you are the center of attention, while this is principally up to you to role play; you become agitated when your shyness becomes a problem adding a D6 to all difficulties when dealing with other people.
Plot Points are the currency of drama in the game system. They’re used for a variety of things, such as keeping your character alive or improving his chance of succeeding at actions. In a sense, they’re a means of changing the story and empowering you as a player.
Plot Points may be spent before a roll to add an extra die to your roll. The more points spent, the bigger the die – a single Plot Point adds a D2, two Plot Points add a D4, and so on. You may also spend points after a roll, but at reduced effectiveness; each Plot Point spent afterward adds 1 to the total result on the dice. Just remember that you always get at least as many points as you spent added to your roll.
You can spend Plot Points to reduce damage, turning a fatal or incapacitating injury into just a flesh wound. When damage is declared, you may opt to spend Plot Points to buy a bonus die just like when you try to improve actions, but this time the result is subtracted from the damage.
Finally, you may spend Plot Points to have some measure of narrative control over the game world itself. This is called story manipulation, or “scene editing.”
Depending on the number of Plot Points you choose to spend, you may insert an element into the current scene – add in a relationship between a supporting character and your character that didn’t exist (and is thus only now revealed), or suggest to the GM that there’s a well-placed tank of gasoline near the villain’s car, and a lucky shot with your 9mm might cause it to explode – the effects and extent of this use of Plot Points are up to you and your GM.
Although you can’t have more than 12 Plot Points at a time, and you’ll want to spend them a lot, you’re going to find that playing up your Complications and sticking to your character’s personality will ensure a constant supply.
Actions
When you want your character to try and shoot a rampaging dinosaur, reroute a starship’s power source, or jump a chasm while running from jungle natives, you are performing an action that might fail, and might well do so with dramatic consequences. In the Cortex System, these actions are resolved by rolling dice. The exact dice to be rolled usually depend upon your character’s relevant Attributes and Skills; what happens after the roll depends upon what type of action your character is attempting.
Simple Actions
Most actions are simple actions. The GM decides which Attribute and Skill combination (or, in some exceptional cases, an Attribute and another Attribute) is most appropriate for that particular action in that situation. Roll the dice and add the results together. If the total is higher than the Difficulty set by the GM then your character succeeds. The GM sets the Difficulty based on how difficult the situation is supposed to be.
Difficulties
Action Difficulty Extraordinary Success Easy 3 10 Average 7 14 Hard 11 18 Formidable 15 22 Heroic 19 26 Incredible 23 30 Ridiculous 27 34
Difficulties
Action Difficulty Extraordinary Success
Impossible 31 38
Most simple actions represent all that your character is doing in each game turn. Occasionally, you may need to do more than one action at a time, which imposes step penalties. Some things take up very little time or concentration, such as shouting a command or flipping a switch, and these don’t require a dice roll or a simple action.
This is a simple method of resolution, but you can take advantage of how flexible it is. The rules never permanently pair a single Attribute with any Skill, so it’s up to the GM to think about the specific situation and then choose an Attribute and Skill pairing. This allows the rules to accommodate a broad range of possible scenarios and be adapted easily to almost anything.
For example, you could roll Agility + Athletics to see how quickly your character runs through a patch of dense foliage (since he needs to take care not to trip or get entangled in the brush). Then again, you would roll Strength + Athletics when your character runs across an open field, when sheer muscle power is more important than grace and precision. Finally, should that open field turn out to be a minefield, you might be rolling Alertness + Athletics to see if your character crosses it safely.
Complex Actions
Some actions are lengthier or more involved than others. Sprinting across a room is a simple action, but running a marathon is a complex action. These actions call for multiple rolls. Complex actions use the same Difficulty descriptors (Easy, Hard, etc.) but the totals are five times what they were for simple action – but since you are rolling more than once and adding everything together the needed total is called a Threshold. Each roll of the dice represents a certain amount of time; it could be as short as a combat turn (three seconds) for something like picking a lock or as long as a month (doing a full refit and upgrade on a starship).
Unskilled Rolls
When your character doesn’t have the right Skill, you just roll his Attribute. General Skills are very broad, but they don’t cover everything. The GM might allow you to use a related Skill instead of the most appropriate one, especially if you can provide a justification for it, but no Skill should become a replacement for all the others. Remember also that some actions require actual training to be attempted at all. Surgery, computer programming, and other highly specialized fields are examples of these “trained only” Skills.
Opposed Actions
Sometimes you wind up acting directly against an opponent. When this happens, it’s called an opposed action. It doesn’t really matter how well the two opponents perform so long as one does it better than the other. Each character makes an appropriate roll, and the one with the highest total scores a win. Ties mean no clear winner is established and the contest continues into the next turn, unless the circumstances change.
In some cases, both characters roll the same Attribute and Skill. In others, different combinations are called for. As in all actions, the GM considers the situation and decides what each character has to roll.
Some events seem like opposed rolls but really aren’t. If the action directly pits one character against another, use opposed rolls. If a minimum level of success exists, however, it’s just two
