Difficulty Dice

For an uncontested Task Roll (meaning there is no active opposition to the character), you can use Difficulty Dice [DD] to generate the target number.

Remember, before you start calculating, Rule #5.

Tasks have several Difficulty categories:

• Routine = no roll required. These are things everyone can do all the time. Walking is routine.
• Easy = 1 dice. [E] Things everyone can do most of the time. Running in a straight line is easy.
• Moderate = 2 dice [M] Things most people can do most of the time. Running full speed (sprinting) is moderate.
• Hard = 3 dice [H] Things most people can do successfully about half the time. Running over obstacles is hard.
• Very Hard = 4 dice [V] Things most people need some training to do successfully.
• Extremely Hard = 5 dice [X] Things that cannot be realistically done without some training.
• Brutal = 6 dice [B] Things that are hard to do even for people who are trained to do them.
• Unbelievable = 7 dice [U] Right at the limit for any normal human being
• Impossible = 8 dice [I] Beyond what any normal human could reasonably attempt
• Absurd = 9 dice [A] Clearly beyond anything human

Difficulties beyond absurd are possible, but we don’t make up names for them. Just say 10 (or more) dice.

It is important to remember that these are very loose categories, and their purpose is to provide a framework for drama rather than some elaborate scaffolding for realistic simulation. Don’t obsess over the calculations. If 7DD seems to be right - then it is.

If all other methods of determination fail, roll 2d6 – that is the difficulty level. This is a last resort.

Performing a task under duress can add one difficulty. It is easy to start a car. It is moderate to start a car with a velociraptor on the hood head-butting the windshield.

Other Common Difficulties

• Hitting or otherwise engaging a moving target = +1DD per 10'/sec of difference in relative speed.
• Wind and weather: +1DD per 10mph for general tasks. +1DD per 3mph for wind or water sensitive tasks such as archery or cooking outside.
• Lighting
• Terrain

We’re not really rolling all those dice are we?

There is, in truth, more drama in rolling the dice, but that’s time consuming. The XP can, at convenience, substitute static difficulty values;

Easy – 2

Medium – 4

Hard – 6

Very Hard – 9

Extremely hard – 12

Brutal – 16

Unbelievable – 20

Impossible – 25

Absurd – 30

Absurd + - +6 per level.

If the outcome is critical to the episode, you should really roll it out.