SoSy:Types Of Ability Checks

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Types of Ability Checks and how they work

While the Ability Check is the core mechanic that ties this entire game together, it actually comes in several forms, each of which add on a layer of complexity.

Unopposed Ability Check

The first and most simple type is the unopposed Ability Check. This is used when a player wants her character to try a task in which no other character is attempting any action which would stop her. There are four steps to the unopposed Ability Check, and all other types of Ability Checks.

First, the player states the character's intention. This should be easy: "Pieter is going to try to climb that boulder" is a good example. The Story Guide could reply, "If you succeed, Pieter's over the rock," but that's pretty implicit. Usually, the results of success are easily taken from what the player said. The results of failure are determined by the Story Guide and players. In this case, failure could mean Pieter's not over the rock or it could mean something worse. The Story Guide has free reign here to say, "That's a giant boulder. If you fail, Pieter falls and will break a bone." What's important is that these states are stated up front.

The second step is determining circumstances. This is where bonus and penalty dice come into play. Characters may often have either bonus and penalty dice because of Secrets activated, pools spent, harm taken, or The Gift of Dice, as shown below. In addition to any bonus or penalty dice outlined elsewhere in these rules, the Story Guide may assign one or two penalty dice to any ability check. One penalty die may be assigned if circumstances render a task especially difficult or if the character is ill-equipped. If trying to climb a wall, a character would not be assigned a penalty die if it were drizzling, or dark, or a bit chilly, but one could be assigned if there was an icy wind and hard rain coming down at night. If the climber was trying to go up a cliff face, which normally required pitons and crampons and the like, and she didn't have any, she could receive a penalty die. Two penalty dice can be assigned in the very worst of circumstances. A good measure of whether to assign two penalty dice is if the description of the circumstances elicits a stream of profanity from a player. We're talking about seriously nasty conditions here - hail coming down in the midst of an icy rain while gale-force winds tear at our climber in the pitch dark.

The third and final step is actually rolling the dice. If the success level is equal or better than the difficulty, the character has succeeded. The Story Guide and players should use the success level to describe how the character performed at the stated intention.

Competative Ability Check

The next type of Ability Check is the competitive Ability Check. This occurs when two or more characters are attempting the same task, but each wants to do it better or faster. All rules for the standard Ability Check apply, and in addition, the conditions of victory are set before the Ability Check: if the Check is over a foot-race, the victor went the fastest; if it's composing a song, the victor made a better piece of work. This should be fairly obvious, but the Story Guide and players can decide together what the conditions of victory are if there's any question.

All players with competing characters make Ability Checks. After Ability Checks are made, any character who succeeded actually completed the task with some proficiency and the player can use the success level to compute any relevant outcomes. The character of the player with the highest total score, however, completed the task better or faster, and the other characters are ranked in the order of their players' rolls. In the case of a tie, the characters' feats are so close in speed and quality that a winner cannot be determined between them. They can either tie, or if the players and Story Guide want to, those players can roll again to see which is the victor.

Resisted Ability Check

The last type of Ability Check is the resisted Ability Check. This Check, most common in role-playing games, occurs when two characters attempt tasks that would cancel out each other. Examples include:

• One character swinging a sword at another character dodging.
• One character trying to get information by twisting another character's arm, who is attempting to suffer through the pain and keep quiet.
• One character sneaking up on a character who is keeping watch.
• One character offering a romp in bed to a character who is trying to deny the pleasures of the flesh.

All normal Ability Check rules apply to resisted Checks. The two players involved make their Ability Checks and then compare their scores. The higher of the two wins: in the case of a tie, the instigator of the action loses.

When narrating a resisted Ability Check, both players' success levels come into account. For purposes of computing results, the winner's success level is used, but the loser's efforts are still significant. An example:

Example The character Violet, played by Kim, is attempting to drive the character Lore, played by Wilhelm, to his knees with a savage sword attack. Upon rolling, Kim ends up with an Amazing success level, and Wilhelm ends up with a Great success level. Kim's roll wins, but Lore still made a great block. The action is narrated as, "Violet brings up her sword and makes a vicious stroke down, aiming for the lower leg. Lore, anticipating the swing, throws his shield in the way, but the sword crashes down it, the force driving the shield itself back into Lore's shins as he falls."

The losing player must abide by the winner's stated intention for the Ability Check, even if it was "I kill that sorry character." That's not entirely true, though: what sort of game would this be if your character could die from one roll of the dice? To see how to extract your character from any sticky situation you don't like, see "Bringing Down the Pain" below.

Example The character Violet, played by Kim, is attempting to drive the character Lore, played by Wilhelm, to his knees with a savage sword attack. Upon rolling, Kim ends up with an Amazing success level, and Wilhelm ends up with a Great success level. Kim's roll wins, but Lore still made a great block. The action is narrated as, "Violet brings up her sword and makes a vicious stroke down, aiming for the lower leg. Lore, anticipating the swing, throws his shield in the way, but the sword crashes down it, the force driving the shield itself back into Lore's shins as he falls."

The losing player must abide by the winner's stated intention for the Ability Check, even if it was "I kill that sorry character." That's not entirely true, though: what sort of game would this be if your character could die from one roll of the dice? To see how to extract your character from any sticky situation you don't like, see "Bringing Down the Pain" below.

Using abilities together

If you want your character to perform a complex action that uses two abilities together, decide with the Story Guide which ability is most appropriate to the action and which is secondary. The secondary ability is used first and the success levels are used as bonus dice on the second Ability Check. The Story Guide and player will have to decide what happens if the first Ability Check is failed: in some situations, the second Ability Check can still be attempted without harm; in others, the Ability Check can be attempted with a penalty die; and in others still, the second Ability Check cannot be attempted.

Example 1 A character is trying to cut a thong from a guard's belt and snatch his keys, using Bladework to chop the thong, and Stealth to grab the keys without being seen. While he is using Swords to actually get the keys free, the Stealth part of the action is most important. The player makes a Bladework Ability Check. If successful, the success levels are converted to bonus dice on the Stealth Ability Check. If unsuccessful, however, the keys are still on the guard's belt, so the Stealth Ability Check cannot be attempted.

Example 2 Another character wants to approach a wild bear without getting attacked using Animal Ken. In order to help with this, she's going to attempt to remember what bears like to eat and see if she can find some, using Woodscraft. The Woodscraft Ability Check is secondary, and if successful, will add bonus dice to the Animal Ken Ability Check. If unsuccessful, there is no complication; the character just must approach the bear with no food gift.

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