Core rules
Attribute Tests
When the character wants to do something risky or that may fail, the player Tests an attribute by rolling a D20 against a Target Number (TN).
The TN is set by: Attribute (+ Skill) (+/- Difficulty).
- The roll is under the target number: the character succeeds.
- The roll is equal to the target number: the character critically succeeds .
- The roll is greater than the target number: the character fails or succeeds at a cost.
- The roll is a 20: the character critically fails.
If a character fails a Test that they are skilled at, mark that skill - it may improve at the end of the session.
GMs should be generous in what a skill may apply to, but players should respect the fiction - not every skill applies in every situation!
Don't roll too much
Tests should be saved for circumstances where the outcome matters and where success or failure represent a new state of play. If something can be done by repeatedly attempting it with little consequence, there is no need to roll.
A Test can only be re-attempted if the approach or circumstances significantly change. Otherwise, the first result should carry forward.
Puka-Watha is sneaking into a rival village to steal a priceless ritual staff. The GM asks for a normal Quick roll. Puka-Watha has a Sneaking skill of 2 and a Quick of 10. They roll a 6, a success! The GM narrates that Puka-Watha sneaks past the lookouts, the slumbering villagers, and into the chieftess's tent - where two great night-cats lay in wait. Getting around these creatures will require another test.
Difficulty
Apply a difficulty modifier if a challenge is particularly easy or hard relative any character's abilities. Consult the table below and adjust the Target Number as necessary.
Trivial: +10 (Climbing a hill, hitting a cow with a stick, swimming in a calm pond) Simple: +5 (Outrunning a child, jumping a narrow ditch, recalling the direction of the nearest city) Easy: +2 (Tracking a bleeding animal, breaking down a rotten door, hiding in dense forest) Normal: +0 (Hitting an armored warrior with a club, convincing a guard to let you pass, picking a shopkeep's pocket) Hard: -2 (Navigating a boat through heavy fog, picking a high-quality lock, shooting an apple at 50 paces) Daunting: -5 (Deciphering a dead language, scaling a sheer cliff in the rain, wrestling a bear) Impossible: -10 (Piercing an ancient dragon's scales, punching through a stone wall, convincing a skeptic of an obvious lie)
Challenges that have a TN of less than 1 will never succeed and should be attempted another way. Challenges with a TN of greater than 20 will never fail and do not need to be rolled.
Use Trivial and Impossible sparingly - these are situations where it only rarely makes sense to roll.
Advantage and Disadvantage
Favorable and unfavorable circumstance are captured by [adv]antage and [dis]advantage.
If any roll or card draw is made with adv, roll two dice or draw two cards and take the better.
Some things that might give you adv: Relevant equipment, assistance from your party, a good reputation.
If any roll or draw is made with dis, roll two dice or draw two cards and take the worse.
Some things that might give you dis: Being surprised, sick, Near the Grave, or using poor tools.
Individual instances of adv and dis negate each other one-for-one. They do not stack - you will only roll twice no matter how many instances of adv or dis you have.
Difficulty or Advantage/Disadvantage?
Difficulty should be applied when a challenge is uniformly difficult or easy regardless of who is attempting it - a sheer cliff is a Daunting task to climb, no matter how skilled you are.
Advantage or disadvantage should be applied situationally and individually, due to momentary circumstance or debility.
Critical Success and Failure
A equal to the Target Number is always a success and grants additional effect.
- Attacks roll an additional damage die.
- Spells, talents, and other special abilities that typically require Drawing Deep do not require a card pull.
- Skill and attribute tests provide a situational advantage such as extra movement, Advantage on the next roll, or clearing the most recent Drawn card pulled.
A roll of a 20 is always a failure and incurs a steep cost.
- The victim must immediately Draw Deep or suffers another situational hindrance - the gun jams, they slip and fall, an alarm sounds.
Aid
A character may assist another in any situation that they could reasonably help. Aiding another character grants them adv on a Test. It typically takes the same amount of time as the test, e.g. an action in combat.
Group Tests
If the entire group is attempting an action, the character with the lowest target number rolls the test. Other characters can aid as normal.
Opposed Rolls
Most rolls should be resolved by the party who will be most impacted by the result. In the rare case where that cannot be determined easily, you can do an opposed roll.
For NPCs and monsters, their TN is 8 + their Difficulty, with a +2 bonus if it is something they are skilled in.
The highest success wins.
Drawing Deep
The adventurers of ((California)) possess an inner strength far beyond that of common folk. A character can use this mettle to Draw Deep in many different situations:
- When casting spells, using special abilities or combat maneuvers.
- To re-roll a failed roll in a stressful or time-sensitive situation. You may not Draw Deep on a roll for character advancement or in other relaxed circumstances.
- When beset by stress or horror that would bring a normal person to their knees.
To Draw Deep, draw a card, the Stake, from a shuffled poker deck and place it in front of you.
Aces count as 1, face cards count as 10.
If the sum of your Stake is greater than your Spirit, you Break.
When you Break, shuffle your Stake back into the deck and take one Wound.
You clear your Stake after an hour's rest.
You cannot Draw Deep while you are Near Death. If you are required to do so, you fall unconscious instead.
Usage Die (UD)
A usage die is used when there is a limited but unknown quantity of an abstract resource.
When a resource is used, you roll its Usage die. A result of 1 or 2 means the Usage die is downgraded one step (UD20 -> UD12 -> UD10 -> UD8 -> UD6 -> UD4).
A 1 or 2 on UD4 means the resource is depleted.
As a guide, the average number of uses until the die is depleted for each Ud is as follows:
Ud20: 30 - Ud12: 20 - Ud10: 14 - Ud8: 9 Ud6: 5 - Ud4: 2.
Examples of UD:
- A burning fire might have UD6 turns until it goes out.
- A friendly faction might grant UD4 favors before deciding that the party has drawn on them enough.
- A magic wand could have UD8 charges before it is overdrawn and explodes.
- The players might have UD8 turns until the distracted tunnel-bear returns to its lair.
The usage die is not always the correct randomization tool - it works best when the players are making a decision to push their luck. For simple randomization (number of enemies, quantity of treasure, random encounter chance) GMs are encouraged to just roll suitable dice.
Distances
((The Redwood Hack)) uses meters for distance. A normal person can move about 10 meters in a single action. Most ranged weapons and spells are effective between 10 and 50 meters. You can hear a shout from around 200 meters and see human-sized objects from about 5 kilometers on a flat plain. On foot a laden adventurer can cover about 35 km, 50 on horseback, and double that if pushing hard.
The GM is encouraged to be generous when accounting for distances - speeds, ranges and the like are guidelines and should not interfere with smooth and exciting gameplay.
Perception
If a character is looking for something and it's there, they find it. For other situations where awareness is relevant and not obvious, like being ambushed, test Wits.
Good Fortune
Some adventurers from ((California)) are blessed with preternatural good luck. In situations where the answer is indeterminate, have one of the characters test their Shine. On a success, the outcome favors the character.
Magpie "Two-Lives" Grim is looking for some oil in the pile of provisions the Storm Crow outlaws left behind. The GM asks her to test her Shine. A success! A barrel of oil and a book of matches is tucked into some saddlebags.