Want to model a Character’s occupation, background, or skill-set that might otherwise fall between the cracks? We can do that. I am a big fan of leveraging a Character’s class levels (or equivalents). After all, it is the measure of a Character’s power in the world.
Skills and/or levels add bonuses to die rolls
A Character with an applicable ability, background, or skill receives a bonus to their die rolls, depending upon their applicable class level:
| Character Class Level | Roll Bonus |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | +1 |
| 4-7 | +2 |
| 8+ | +3 |
This bonus applies to all the dice they roll.
Specialized challenges
A specialized challenge is one that requires some measure of ability or skill to even attempt. Open heart surgery, for example. If the Character lacks any skill or ability in that department, there is just no chance for success. Mechanically, a penalty is attached to the die rolls, as follows:
| Challenge Type | Roll Penalty |
|---|---|
| Mundane | 0 |
| Specialized | -1 |
| Expert | -2 |
This penalty applies to all the dice they roll.
The upshot of this is that a specialized challenge will require a skilled Character to attempt. The reason is that their +1 bonus will negate the -1 penalty. It won’t be easy, but they can do it. An unskilled Character cannot. They’ll never be able to score even a single boon. An expert challenge will require a skilled Character of at least fourth level, for the same reasons.
You might ask: can’t the Character buy the boons they need? No because buying boons presumes the character has some ability to complete the task with the tools and talents they have and, in this case, they can’t. The challenge is simply beyond them. That said, if the word impossible doesn’t exist in your vocabulary, there’s always the puncher’s chance (see below).
Giving a puncher’s chance
Characters are going to run into challenges that they are not equipped to overcome. One option, if it isn’t a specialized task, is to sell the Character boons (see “Sell boons”). Another option, which at the referee’s discretion can be used at any time, is to offer the Character a puncher’s chance to win the challenge.
When a Character decides to take a puncher’s chance, they roll their dice as normal. If they score any natural sixes, they score boons and they can re-roll those boons for further boons. This process can be repeated until the Character chooses to stop, in which case they can apply all the boons rolled against the challenge, or they fail to roll a boon. If they fail to roll a boon, they lose all the boons they had banked. Cave pugil!