ROLL THE DICE
There are a total of twelve core skills in the game. Each skill is connected to one of the four attributes: Strength (STR), Agility (AGL), Intelligence (INT), and Empathy (EMP).

Close Combat (STR)   Heavy Weapons (STR)  Stamina (STR)      Driving (AGL)
Ranged Combat (AGL)  Mobility (AGL)       Recon (INT)        Survival (INT)
Tech (INT)           Command (EMP)        Medical Aid (EMP)  Persuasion (EMP)

When you perform an action, you use two dice – one for your skill level and another
for the base attribute that is connected to the skill. These two dice are called your base dice.

The type of base dice to roll depends on your levels in the skill and attribute. Then roll your two base dice together. If you don’t have a level in the skill you’re using, just roll one for the attribute.

SUCCESS
To succeed with your action, you must roll 6 or higher on at least one base die used in the roll. A roll of 6 or higher
is called a success.

MULTIPLE SUCCESSES: A roll of 10 or higher on a single die (only possible with a D10 or D12 of course) counts as two successes. This means you can potentially roll up to
four successes with a single skill roll (two successes on each die), if you are both skilled and lucky. With bonus beyond the first one you can achieve additional effects,
if explicitly stated in the rules.

THE ART OF FAILURE
If you roll no successes, something goes wrong. For some reason, you failed to achieve your goal. Feel free to elaborate on why with the help of the Referee. They might even let a failed roll have further consequences to move the story forward in a dramatic way.

Failure must not stop the story completely. Even when you fail, there must be a way forward – perhaps at the cost of time, risk, or silver, but still a way. The Referee
always has the final say regarding the consequences of failure in a particular situation. You have one last chance if you really need to succeed – you can push the roll.

PUSHING YOUR ROLL
Your initial skill roll reflects a safe and controlled action. If you fail your initial roll, or if you want additional successes, you can lean into the action, giving it everything you’ve got, pushing yourself or your gear to the limit.

This is called pushing the roll, and lets you re-roll all dice except those with the result of 1. You must re-roll all dice not showing a 6, and you cannot change back to the previous result.

There is also a risk – each time you push a roll, you immediately suffer 1 point of damage (if you rolled for STR or AGL) or 1 point of stress (if you rolled for INT or EMP) for each 1 you rolled on your base dice. If this damage incapacitates you, this happens after the action is resolved.

USING GEAR: If you used a tool, such as a weapon or a vehicle, for a skill roll based on STR or AGL, any damage from pushing will affect the item instead of yourself and
decrease its reliability rating.

AMMO DICE: If you push your roll, you must also re-roll any ammo dice that don’t show 6 or 1. 1 on ammo dice will damage your firearm and decrease its reliability rating, just like 1s rolled on your base dice.

PASSIVE ROLLS: You can only push skill rolls when you actively perform an action. When passive or unaware, for example when rolling RECON to see if you spot a sneaking
enemy or when someone uses PERSUASION on you, you cannot push the roll.

ONLY ONCE: You can only push your roll once. If you don’t succeed on your second try, you are stuck dealing with the consequences.

GROUP ROLLS
When you face a challenge together with the other PCs, don’t roll dice separately. Instead, you decide who among you is best suited to take on the challenge. The others may help this person if it’s relevant to the situation. If the roll fails, it counts as a failure for all of you – you are not allowed to try one time each. This rule does not apply in combat, where each PC acts independently.

MODIFIERS
Sometimes, external factors help you to succeed. Such modifiers will step up one of your base dice to a better die, from a D6 to a D8 for example. Other times, something hampers your action. This will downstep one of your base dice. You can get modifiers to skill rolls in several different ways: specialties, the difficulty of the action itself, and help from others.

A +1 modifier means upgrading a base dice one step, a +2 modifier means upgrading two steps, and so on. A –1 modifier means downgrading a base die one step, –2 means two steps down, and so on.

Several modifiers can apply to the same roll, and they are cumulative. A +2 modifier and a –1 modifier add up to +1, for example.

When stepping up and down, always try to balance your dice as much as possible – i.e. step up a lower base die first, and downstep a higher base die. You can never go above two D12s, no matter what modifiers you have. To downstep past two D6s, remove one die. You can never go below one D6.

If you lack a skill level and start with just a single base die, step up by adding a D6 (as one step up) and step it up further as needed.

DIFFICULTY
Normally, the Referee doesn’t assess how difficult an action is. You only roll dice in challenging situations – period. But sometimes, the Referee might want to underscore that external factors either help or hinder an action. Use the following table for guidance:

POSITIVE MODIFIERS: Each of the below factors can give a positive modifier
to your roll:
Familiar equipment (e.g., mines from your own nation)
Specialized equipment (e.g., a custom off-road racing vehicle instead of an SUV)
Spotter (someone with binoculars or spotting scope identifying targets hit/missed)
Specific tools (e.g., lockpicks designed for the type of lock being picked)
High-end ingredients (e.g., commercial-grade chemicals or freshly butchered beef)
Advantage over opponent (e.g., they are asleep, looking the other way, etc.)

negative modifier to your roll:
Unfamiliar equipment (e.g., mines of a foreign nation)
Improvised equipment (e.g., using a coat hanger and paper clip instead of lockpicks)
Weather/light conditions (rain, fog, blizzard, darkness, glare, smoke, fire, etc.)
Poor ingredients (e.g., stale bread, meat from sickly animal, homemade chemicals)
Opponent has advantage (e.g., highly alert, using observation equipment, etc.)

SPECIFIC MODIFIERS: There are also many cases where specific modifiers are imposed by the rules, like when you aim carefully with a ranged weapon (page 65), shoot at long distance, or if you’re in a bad bargaining position when you use PERSUASION on someone.

SPECIALTIES
Many specialties also give you a positive modifier in certain situations or when using certain types of gear.

HELP FROM OTHERS
Other PCs or NPCs can help you succeed at a skill roll. This must be declared before you roll your dice. It must also make sense in the story – the individuals helping
you must be physically present and have the capacity to support your action. The Referee has final say.

For each person helping you, you get a +1 modifier. No more than three people can help you with a single roll, meaning your maximum modifier from getting help is +3. In combat, helping counts as the same type of action as the one you are supporting (fast or slow).

NPCs can help each other in the same way as player characters. Letting NPCs act in groups instead of individually is often an easy way to manage large numbers of NPCs in combat.

OPPOSED ROLLS
Sometimes, rolling a success isn’t enough to succeed with your skill roll. In some cases, you have to beat your foe in an opposed roll. To win an opposed roll, you must roll more successes than your adversary.

Every success your adversary rolls eliminates one of your successes. Only you (the active party) can push your roll – and you can decide to do so even after your opponent rolls.

Sometimes you and your adversary roll for different skills, sometimes the same. Opposed rolls are common when you use PERSUASION to influence someone or RECON to move undetected. The Referee can also use opposed rolls in any case when they deem it appropriate. The Referee might even roll for you secretly when you are the passive part in an opposed roll.