Dice Rolls

Most things that characters do in Fayrewood happen without needing any rules at all. If an action is straightforward for a character, or failure would add nothing interesting to the story, the Storyteller should simply allow it to succeed.

A roll or toss is only needed when the outcome is uncertain and failure would matter, like when a character acts under pressure, attempts something difficult, or must overcome an obstacle.

Dice

When making a toss, dice are assembled into a pool representing the character’s capabilities, the resources available to them, and the circumstances they find themselves in.

Dice Pools

A pool can contain up to three main dice and one modifier die.

There are two kinds of main die:

Aspect Dice represent the character's own capabilities. A pool can contain up to two aspect dice, usually one from a pillar and another from a relevant skill.
A tool die represents something the character brings to bear on the action. This might come from equipment, a weapon, or a broader resource such as Wealth or Supplies. A pool can contain no more than one tool die.

Not every toss uses a full pool. Some characters without a relevant skill or useful tool may simply have fewer dice to roll.

All main dice are added together when determining the result of a toss and can contribute to fumbles.

The Die-Ladder

Aspects and resources have a rating from zero to five. Their rating determines the die they contribute to a pool:

Rating	Die
0	No Die
1	d4
2	d6
3	d8
4	d10
5	d12
	d20

A rating of zero contributes no dice to the pool.

If remembering the conversion between ratings and dice is difficult, write the die itself alongside the rating on your character sheet.

Stepping Dice

Some rules can step-up or step-down a die, moving it along the die-ladder:

No Die → d4 → d6 → d8 → d10 → d12 → d20
A step-up moves towards the right, and a step-down towards the left.

Stepping modifiers can stack but die cannot be stepped above a d20 nor below No Die.Stepping a die does not change the underlying rating for that aspect or resource.

Modifier Dice

Modifier dice represent the circumstances surrounding a toss. A pool can contain no more than one.
There are three kinds of modifier dice:

A boon is a d4 added to the result when circumstances are favourable.
A bane is a d4 subtracted from the result when circumstances are unfavourable.
A frayed die is a special d8 that can optionally replace a boon or bane while a character is frayed at the cost of a minor wound. It is always added to the result.

Boons and banes cancel one another out if both apply, and do not stack. The modifier dice do not count towards fumbles.

Making a Toss

Making a toss goes something like this:

Describe what your character is trying to do and how they are going about it.
The Storyteller decides which Aspect Dice and, where appropriate, Tool Die make up the pool.
The Storyteller decides whether the circumstances provide a boon or bane and applies any other relevant modifiers.
Roll the pool. Add together the main dice, then add or subtract the modifier die as appropriate.
Compare the result against the opposition. If it meets or beats the opposition, the player wins the toss.

Opposition

Every toss is made against some form of opposition. To win a toss, a player must meet or beat the value opposing them. Opposition usually takes one of two forms: a fixed difficulty or one or more opposing dice pools in a clash.

Difficulty

A difficulty is a fixed number set by the Storyteller to represent the inherent challenge of an action. The result of the toss must meet or beat the difficulty to win. This number can be set as the Storyteller thinks is appropriate but the following table can act as a rough guide:

Difficulty	Description
3	Easy
7	Moderate
11	Hard
15	Very Hard
19+	Near impossible

The Storyteller may keep a difficulty secret where revealing it would give players information their characters would not reasonably know.

Clashes

When the opposition to a toss is determined by another dice pool, the tosses form a clash.

Each pool in a clash is built and rolled as normal. They don't need to contain the same dice, or even represent the same kind of action, and a clash can be made up of several competing pools.

A player wins the clash if their result meets or beats every opposing result.

When player characters directly oppose one another in a clash that requires a decisive result, a tied clash should be rerolled to obtain a clear winner.

To speed up play, the Storyteller may take half on an opposing pool instead of rolling it, using half of its maximum possible result as the opposition.

Results

If the result of a toss meets or beats its opposition, the player wins. Otherwise, they fail.

A fail does not necessarily prevent a character from attempting the same action again, but there should usually be some change in circumstances before simply trying again. This happens naturally during conflict, where the situation is constantly changing.

Margin

The amount by which a winning toss exceeds its opposition is called the margin. Meeting the opposition exactly has a margin of zero.
The margin can be used to determine the degree of success and is particularly important for determining damage during conflict.

A result of 12 against an opposition of 9, for example, has a margin of 3.

Criticals

A critical occurs when the margin of a winning toss meets or beats its opposition.

A critical represents an especially decisive success. The action might be completed more quickly, more stylishly, or more thoroughly than usual. Some rules may also provide a particular benefit for achieving a critical.

Fumbles

If one main die lands on a 1 but the toss still wins, the result is a fumble.

A fumble means that the character accomplishes what they intended, but their success carries an unexpected cost or complication. The consequence should suit the action without undoing the successful result.

If two or more main dice land on 1, the result is a catastrophic fumble. The toss automatically fails regardless of its result and carries an appropriate consequence determined by the Storyteller.

Modifier dice do not contribute to fumbles.

Resist Tosses

Sometimes a character makes a toss not to accomplish something, but to resist something happening to them. This is called a resist toss.

A resist toss works like any other toss, although the two aspect dice will be drawn from the same pillar. Its opposition might be a fixed difficulty or another pool as part of a clash.

Winning a resist toss means the character avoids or reduces the effect being resisted, as determined by whatever called for the toss and the Storyteller.

Help

Characters can help one another when they can reasonably contribute towards the same goal.

When several characters perform the same task together, the character with the strongest relevant pool makes the toss with a boon.
A character may instead help by performing a different action which benefits the main toss. The Storyteller may call for a separate toss to determine whether the help is effective, granting a boon on a win.

Additional helpers do not provide additional boons, although having more characters involved may make an action possible which otherwise would not be.

Sweeps

Sometimes a character is sufficiently capable that rolling a toss would add little uncertainty or interest to play. In these cases, the Storyteller may award a sweep.

To determine whether a character can sweep, take half of the maximum possible result of their pool. If this meets or beats the opposition, the character wins without rolling.

The Storyteller should award sweeps liberally where failure would add little of interest to the story. They are not normally used during conflict, although they may be useful for quickly overcoming obstacles and opponents which pose no meaningful threat.

A sweep has a margin of zero and cannot result in a critical or fumble.