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Success & Magnitude

Rolling dice produces a Success Number (S#). Comparing that to a Success Threshold (ST) produces the Magnitude of the outcome: how decisively things went one way or the other.


  1. Roll your dice pool against the Target Number.
  2. Count every die that came up at or below the TN. That total is your S#.
  3. Compare your S# to the ST.
  4. The difference is Magnitude.

The ST depends on context:

  • Environmental / non-opposed challenges: The GM sets a static ST based on the difficulty of the task.
  • Confrontations: Opponents roll their own dice for each action type (Harm, Dodge, Guard, Convince, etc.). Their roll result is the ST you must beat. This is a live comparison, not a fixed number.

S# vs STResult
S# < STShortfall is Strain applied to you
S# = ST1 Strain to both sides
S# > STDifference is Strain applied to the target

Magnitude = S# minus ST. Positive means you win by that much. Negative means they win by that much.


Your S# is 4. The opponent’s ST roll came up as 2.

Magnitude = 4 minus 2 = +2. You deal 2 Strain to the target.


Magnitude is expressed in Strain regardless of what the action is: a physical hit, a convincing argument, a blocked attack. Strain is the game’s universal resource for dealing and absorbing consequences. See Strain.