You Gotta Know Your Basics

And by tomorrow, I apparently meant tonight.

So, some observations before I start tackling the basic mechanics. Essentially they stay the same: grab some d10's, roll, keep a few, add'em together and compare them against some number for success or failure. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. One major change, though, is about Raises. Sure, in combat what Raises can do is fairly fixed. But using them outside combat has always been iffy. you can use them for more impressive success, but what the hell does that really mean? How do you quantify it? I rarely had players make non-essential, non-combat Raises, because the idea that I "scale the wall REALLY GOOD!" just seems... not quite epic.

So, I stole an idea from Houses of the Blooded. The wording below needs work, certainly, but let me know if the basic idea comes across.

Also, the arrangement. Instead of character creation first, shouldn't a game really start with the basic system outlined, so that you know how it all works together and then build your character according to what you want to accomplish? I feel terrible when a player builds a cool character, then once play begins learns that nothing does what they thought it did because they weren't grounded in the rules first. Sure, that's their responsibility to learn, but why put that somewhere in the middle of the book instead of laying it out in the front? Help your brother out.

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The Basics: The Roll & Keep System

Whenever a player needs to resolve a task that is vital to the adventure yet carries a significant chance of failure, dice are rolled to determine success or failure. The game exclusively uses 10-sided dice (d10's). When making a roll, the player gathers a number of dice (usually determined by a Trait, Ring, or Skill), rolls, then selects which dice to “keep” (usually determined by a Trait, Ring, or School Rank). Once the kept dice are selected, the value of each kept die is added together, plus or minus ant modifiers, and compared to the target number (TN) of the roll. If the roll meets or beats the TN, the attempt succeeds. Otherwise, it fails. Beating the TN grants you an “effect,” which typically results in standard results: the player convinces a character their telling the truth, or rolls damage dice after a successful strike, or the spell is cast.

Distinguishing between how many dice are rolled and how many are kept is commonly described as follows: the number rolled is listed first (X), followed by a “k,” and then a second number for how many kept (Y). So a typical roll is written XkY. Example: Akira is asked for a 4k2 roll. He rolls 4 dice, keeps 2 of them, and adds up their individual totals before comparing the result to the TN. Usually players keep their highest die, but you don't have to. You can keep any dice you wish.

If a rolls a 10, it “explodes.” The player can roll another die, adding the two numbers generated together. A die can continue to explode, adding its totals together. The combined total is considered the total of the original exploding die. Example: Akira rolls a 10. It explodes. He rolls another 10. It explodes. He rolls a 5. His total roll for the single die is 25.

Some rolls are considered opposed rolls. This means you and at least one other must each make a roll, usually using the same Trait, Ring, or Skill. The TN for the roll is set as the competitor's result. Example: Hida Jo and Shiba Yo are engaged in an intense footrace, using Athletics/Stamina. Each must make such a Skill roll; the higher roll wins. It is also possible that participants in an opposed roll must meet a TN set by the GM, such as to win the heart of a samurai. If neither meets or beats the TN, then both fail, even if one roll was higher than the other. If the rolls tie, victory goes to the initiating player; if the roll is a direct competition (such as the footrace example) then the result is a tie (both Hida jo and Shiba Yo pass the finish line simultaneously).

A maximum of 10 dice may be rolled or kept on any given dice roll. If you should be rolling more dice than 10, each additional die over 10 is converted to a kept die. And extra kept die over your maximum of 10 gives you a Free Raise. Example: For whatever reason, once Akira has added up all bonuses, Skills, etc., he is asked to make a 14k3 roll. This instead becomes a 10k7 roll. Alternatively, he has to make a 15k7 roll, which becomes a 10k10 roll with 2 Free Raises.

Suggested TN Difficulties

TN	Difficulty	Physical	Mental
0	Mundane	Getting out of bed.	Recalling details of your sword.
5	Very Easy	Striking an immobile target.	Recognizing a friend.
10	Easy	Carrying half your weight.	Finding a misplaced item.
15	Average	Lifting your weight over your head.	Recognizing someone in disguise.
20	Moderate	Diving safely from a waterfall.	Finding a well-hidden object.
25	Difficult	Scaling a cliff without a rope.	Remembering someone's exact words.
35	Heroic	Out-wrestling an ogre.	Naming all your ancestors in order.
50	Legendary	Shattering stone with your bare hands.	Outwitting a Fortune.

Raises

Sometimes you want to achieve a better than “just successful” result, perhaps even an extraordinary success. To do so, you can increase the TN of the roll by increments of +5 (some abilities may alter the increments necessary for a Raise). Each such increment is a “Raise.” Spellcasting, combat, or special ability rolls often have specific effects that can only be accomplished with Raises.

You cannot make more Raises than you have Void Ring Ranks, although this may be modified by special abilities or circumstances. Those without Void Rings may make Raises equal to their lowest Ring.

Some abilities give you Free Raises which grant the same benefits as regular Raises, but do not actually increase the TN, not are they limited by Rings. These can be added in addition to regular Raises for spectacular effects.

What you can do with Raises is add “bonus effects” to the success. These bonus effects might be be detailed as with the combat, spellcasting, or special ability rolls, or they can grant you narrative control. Each Raise grants one additional effect, enabling whoever makes the Raise to collaborate in creating a collective narrative beyond just their individual actions. Each effect outside of the detailed rules allows you to embellish the action, or even the entire scene, with a single fact. These facts are subject to certain conditions.

You can narrate the actions and descriptions of the scene, objects, or even characters (including other player characters) with your Raises. Of course, these actions or descriptions must make sense within the context of the scene, adventure, and setting. Otherwise, you're inhibiting the collective enjoyment of the other players. You can be as clever as you like, but each effect can contain no conjunctions or disjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), except to combine the benefits of several Raises.

Thus, you cannot use a Raise to contradict an already established fact. In other words, you cannot use a Raise to say “No.” You can modify a fact, however, with a “Yes, and...” or “Yes, but...” You cannot simply negate another player's Raises or erase the established reality of the game in progress.

Nor can you use a Raise to replace a roll. If striking a foe with your katana requires a roll, a risk on your part, then you cannot use a Raise to simply say you hit your foe as part of some other action. At least, not to cause damage or produce some other effect (such as disarming) normally acquired through Raises.

Additionally, you can convert unused Raises (even Free Raises) into Void Points; 1 Void Point is replenished per two Raises, although you cannot exceed your Void Ring (unless some special ability circumvents this limit).

Finally, you can use Raises to fail creatively. Think about that.

Example: Akira is chasing his foe across the rooftops of Ryoko Owari, and leaping across an alleyway. He must make his Athletics/Strength roll with a TN of 20. His Athletics is a 6, granting him a Free Raise, and his Strength a 5, so he rolls 6k5+1 Free Raise. Thinking that sounds pretty simple, he decides to make 2 Raises, making the TN 30. Rolling, he gets 1, 3, 6, 6, 9, and 10, exploding for a 2, Thus his roll total is 36, beating the TN. Thus Akira clears the distance (beating the TN), and impresses a geisha watching from a balcony (using his Free Raise), all while gaining a Void Point (converting his other two Raises).

General TN Modifiers

Some situations impose conditional modifiers that apply to almost all rolls.

• Blinded: If blinded for any reason, you suffer a +20 TN penalty to all activities requiring sight, such as attack rolls. Your TN to be Hit is reduced to 5, as if you were unaware.
• Darkness: Dim light (such as candle light) or fog imposes a +5 TN penalty to all actions that require sight, and an additional +5 TN penalty to all Perception rolls or ranged attacks. Total darkness makes you effectively blinded.
• Deafened: In addition to the obvious effects of deafness (no reaction to aural stimuli), you also receive a +10 TN penalty on all opposed rolls against the Stealth Skill or to otherwise detect something with an audible component (unless it is audio only, in which case you automatically fail).
• Going Without Sleep: Each day you go without sleep, you suffer a +10 TN penalty to all rolls. Every day you must make an Earth Ring roll (TN 20 x the number days without sleep) to resist falling asleep. After 3 days, your dice no longer explode. Sleeping for 8 hours + 25% of the time you were awake removes this penalty.
• Suffocation: In certain circumstances, such as when underwater or trying not to inhale poisonous gases, it is necessary to hold your breath. You can go without air for a number of minutes equal to your Stamina. After this time, you lose 1 Stamina Rank per round. When you reach 0 Stamina due to suffocation, you die. If you breathe again before this time elapses (and there is fresh air to do so), you immediately gain all lost Stamina back.
• Starvation: A character who goes without food for more than 48 hours suffers a +10 TN penalty to all rolls. A character who goes without food for 1 week is starving and loses 1 Stamina. The penalties are cumulative and reoccur every week. If his Stamina is reduced to 0, he dies. A character who is merely getting half the normal amount of food still loses Stamina, but the process takes twice as long and he can make an Earth Ring roll (TN 25) to resist the effect each time. A starving character who finds food will slowly recover. The TN penalty is lost as soon as he gets a decent meal. Lost Stamina recovers at a rate of 1 Rank per week, so long as the character is getting his nutritional requirements.
• Dehydration: A character who goes without water for more than 24 hours loses 1 Stamina Rank. If his Stamina is reduced to 0, he dies. A character who is merely getting half the normal amount of water still loses Stamina, but the process takes twice as long and he can make an Earth Ring roll (TN 25) to resist the effect each time. A dehydrating character who finds water will slowly recover. Lost Stamina recovers at a rate of 1 Rank per day, so long as the character is getting his nutritional requirements.