You play the game by narrating your actions, and the GM will respond appropriately. You can do most basic actions without issue, but most scenarios with a chance of failure involve the dice. When this happens, most actions are resolved through Skill Checks.
Skill Checks
To make a Skill Check, roll a number of d6 equal to your Rank in the appropriate skill, add the result together, and add in any other bonuses or modifiers. If you meet the action’s Difficulty Check, or DC, then you succeed. If not, then you generally fail. Your GM usually tells you which skill to roll during Skill Checks, but you can always suggest plausible alternatives, and it helps to clarify your actions so the proper Skill is being tested.
- The GM can apply circumstantial modifiers depending on what events are happening. For each mitigating circumstance that makes a task more or less difficult, roll 1d6 and subtract or add that amount to the character’s Skill Check.
For example, a character tries to climb some rough weathered rock, which has a Base DC of 11. If they are trying to climb at night, or during a violent storm, you may decide to roll 1 penalty dice against their check. Alternatively, they might be climbing a vine, which is a DC 8, only to discover that it is a friendly Pokemon’s vine and it helps them up, adding 1 bonus die to their check. - Synergy Bonus: If your GM thinks a secondary skill can aid you in a Skill Check, then you may add half of that Skill Rank to your result. For example, if you were doing research in a library and used the Glean Weakness power to find out a Haunter’s Weak Spot, you could add half your Pokemon Education ranks to your result, even though you rolled for General Education.
You cannot gain this Bonus from more than one Skill at a time.
There are four kinds of Skill Checks, not including the basic type.
- Team Skill Checks are when there are multiple participants contributing equally to one task without a primary actor, such as stopping a boulder rolling down a hill. The GM sets the DC as normal, then multiplies it by the number of people they would normally expect to be necessary for the task. This becomes the Team DC for the Skill Check. Each participant rolls their Skill and the total sum of all Skill Checks is compared to the Team DC.
- Assisted Skill Checks are when there is a primary actor in the task and someone else tries to assist them. The DC is set as normal, and the primary actor rolls their Skill Check, adding half the Skill Rank of their helper as a bonus to the Check. The helper must have at least Novice Rank in the Skill being tested to assist.
- Extended Skill Checks are used over a longer period of time than a basic Skill Check. The DC for the task is set as usual, then given a multiplier from 2-5 based on how long and complex the task is. 2 represents a simple and tedious task, 3-4 is for a complex and difficult task, and 5 is for the most elaborate of checks. The normal DC multiplied by this number creates the Extended DC for the check. Working on an Extended Skill Check requires at least an Extended Action (S), but may take longer at the GM’s discretion. If it is possible to eventually fail this check, then the character working on it must reach the Extended DC within a number of Skill Checks equal to their Skill Rank being tested. Failing to reach the DC within the required number of rolls represents reaching the limit of your understanding.
- Opposed Checks are actions or powers that are directly opposed by someone else. When this happens, both you and your opponent make Skill Rolls and compare the results. Whoever has the highest result wins the Opposed Check. On a tie, the defender (or whoever is maintaining the status quo) wins.
The amount by which you exceed or fail to meet the DC for a Skill Check should factor into the outcome of your action. Regular success/failure represents a moderate response, falling within 3-5 of the DC represents a significant response, and falling beyond 6 or more represents a glowing success or catastrophe.
Skill Powers
Skill Powers are specific actions you have access to based on your Skill Rank. These cover basic actions such as jumping, swimming, stealth, speaking to people, and so on. You can make Skill Checks without using any Powers, but Powers detail a large amount of what is possible within the system, and to what extent.
- Skill Checks sometimes have circumstantial modifiers. These modifiers are built into Skill Powers for the player’s convenience.
Some Skill Powers state that you may “Take X”, where X is a number from 1 to 6. This means that instead of rolling your Skill Check, you treat your roll as if all your dice had the listed result. For example, being Adept in a skill and Taking 3 would result in (4 x 3) a total of 12.
- You can only Take X when you are not being threatened or distracted by something.
- Generally speaking, you may Take 3 on a check if you spend 6 times as long as normal making the check. You may only Take 6 if you spend 30 times as long as normal making the check. You can never Take X on Free or Interrupt Actions unless a source states otherwise.
These powers are detailed in the skill write-ups under Chapter 3: Skills.
Action Types
There are 5 types of Actions that take a typical amount of time. Rarely, some actions will list the amount of time they take, such as a 1d4 Round Actions.
- Downtime Actions can only be done during the Downtime Phase and last from 2-4 hours.
- Extended Actions take too long to use in combat and come in Short and Long varieties. An Extended Action (S) lasts 1-30 minutes and (L) lasts 30-60 minutes.
- Extended and Downtime Actions automatically scale to meet any aid being offered as similar actions. If one person begins to Push Agreement as an Extended Action (S) and it takes 15 minutes, if another person Flirts as an Extended Action (S) during that same sequence, it also takes 15 minutes.
- 2 Extended Actions (S) can be fit into the space of 1 Extended Action (L). 2 Extended Actions (L) can be fit into the space of 1 Downtime Action.
- Full Actions take a full round’s, or 10 seconds, worth of time.
- Standard Actions take a few seconds.
- Interrupt and Free Actions often take less than a second or two. Interrupt Actions may be taken outside of your own turn.
- Some Moves and Abilities denote that they take a Full Action and an Interrupt Action. This means you take your entire turn outside of its usual Initiative order, skipping your next turn once reaching it in Initiative.