Dice
Midnight City uses a d20-based system. In moderated sessions, successes and failures are determined by rolling a 20-sided die (d20) and adding bonuses determined by your character’s stats and skills.
In a moderated session, the GM will tell you when you need to roll, and what you need to roll. Rolls and their outcomes are different each time, based on difficulty and degree of success (see sections below).
In freeform roleplaying, dice are not required. However, some players may agree to use dice at their own discretion - to settle who wins a fight or a card game, or to add an element of chance to their RP. This is allowed as long as they do not flood the main room with dice rolls while others are trying to RP.
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DIFFICULTY
For every task, there is a different level of difficulty. Sometimes these levels are set by the GM, and sometimes they are determined by the stats of a character. The lower the number, the easier the task. In order to succeed, your roll must be greater than or equal to the target difficulty.
|
Challenge |
DC |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Routine |
0 |
Anyone can do this, no roll is required |
|
Simple |
4 |
An average person can do this easily, a roll may or may not be required |
|
Standard |
8 |
An average person will need to apply some focus |
|
Demanding |
12 |
An average person will have difficulty; a trained person can do this with minor focus |
|
Difficult |
16 |
An average person will fail most of the time; a trained person must apply their full attention |
|
Challenging |
20 |
Even trained people often fail |
|
Intimidating |
24 |
Impossible without skills or great effort |
|
Formidable |
28 |
Not physically possible unless augmented beyond normal human physiology |
|
Heroic |
32 |
Extremely difficult even for augmented humanoids |
|
Immortal |
36 |
If you can do this they’ll write songs about you |
|
Impossible |
40 |
Practically godlike |
Example:
Frank is trying to kick down a door. The door is a heavy wooden door with a solid frame, so the GM sets the DC at 17. The GM then calls Frank to make a strength check.
Frank has a +3 to his strength roll. This means that he rolls a d20+3
Frank rolls a 1 d20+3 and gets an 18. This means that Frank succeeds in kicking down the door.
DEGREE OF SUCCESS
The degree of success is how far over the DC you rolled. The greater the degree of success, the easier it was for your character to complete the task or the cooler they looked doing it. Degree of success is applied by GM discretion. In some cases, a GM may simply say that a success is a success, while in other cases they may use degrees to add more flavour to the quest.
Example:
Frank rolled an 18 on a DC of 17. His degree of success was 1. This means that it was difficult for him to kick down the door. He had to boot it several times and stumbled into the room as the door swung open.
Had Frank rolled a 20, he could have kicked the door open smoothly with little difficulty.
BONUSES
Your character receives bonuses to roll based on their stats and skills (see the Stats page for bonus charts). The stronger a character’s attribute, the better they are at performing a related task, which is then reflected in their bonus to roll - giving them a better chance of success, and the ability to perform more difficult tasks.
Bonuses may be calculated in several ways:
Straight Bonus: This is when ONLY the stat bonus is added to the roll. For example, only strength. For this roll a GM will request a ‘Straight Strength’ or ‘Straight Dex’ roll.
Stat/Level Bonus: This is when the stat bonus and the level bonus are added together (+3 strength and +1 level means a total +4 bonus to roll). For this roll a GM will request ‘STR/LVL’ or ‘DEX/LVL’
Combined Bonus: This is when two stats are added together and may or may not include the level bonus, based on the GM’s discretion. For example, ‘STR/END’ or ‘DEX/INT/LVL’
For all of these types of rolls, skill or class bonuses may be added based on the task. The GM will not ask specifically for skill/class bonuses. You should be aware of your character’s skills and when the additional bonuses are applicable. For example, a skill that grants +1 to all strength rolls will apply whether the roll is Straight Strength, STR/LVL, or STR/END.
ADVANTAGE / DISADVANTAGE
Advantage: Roll 2d20 and use the higher value.
Disadvantage: Roll 2d20 and use the lower value.
Advantage and disadvantage represent the surrounding circumstances of the action you are attempting to make.
If the action you are attempting to perform is made from a beneficial circumstance, aid from another player, or the benevolence of the GM, you may be asked to roll with advantage. Roll 2 d20 and keep the higher number.
Examples of getting Advantage:
- A player spending their awarded Cool Points
- Performing an action with aid from another player
- Attacking a distracted, flanked, or prone enemy
- Attacking while invisible
- Attacking from a hidden position
- Using a skill that grants advantage
If the action you are attempting to perform is made in a disadvantageous or exceedingly difficult circumstance you may be asked to roll with disadvantage. Roll 2 d20 and keep the lower of the two numbers.
Examples of attaining disadvantage:
- Attacking while prone
- Attacking something you cannot see (blinded or invisible)
- Performing an action while impaired, incapacitated or distracted
- Making ranged attacks out of weapon range
- Using long distance weapons at close range
- Using a weapon that has a stat requirement you do not meet
Advantage and disadvantage do not stack. Once advantage or disadvantage has been given by a GM, getting advantage or disadvantage again does not add more dice to the roll. However, advantage and disadvantage do cancel each other out. For example, If you are asked to roll at disadvantage, you may spend a “cool point” to roll normally and vice versa.
CRITICAL FAILURE
A critical failure occurs when your character rolls a natural 1. A natural 1 is a roll of 1 when you remove all bonuses.
Example:
Frank’s strength roll is 1 d20+3. If Frank rolls a 4, that is a natural 1, because 4 - 3 = 1.
A critical failure can result in many poor outcomes, usually harming the character or a party member. Someone could drop their weapon, accidentally shoot a friendly, cut themselves, and so on.
Continuing with the example above, Frank rolls a 1 d20+3 and gets a 4. As he kicks the door, it does not budge an inch. He flies backward and falls, smacking the back of his head on the floor for 10 DMG.
CRITICAL SUCCESS
The opposite of a critical failure, the critical success occurs when your character rolls a natural 20. That is, a 20 when all bonuses are removed.
Example:
Frank rolls for strength, 1d20+3. He gets 23. This is a natural 20. 23 - 3 = 20.
A critical success results in a particularly advantageous outcome for the character - they may do extra damage, get the drop on the enemy, and so on.
In Frank’s case, a 23 could result in him kicking the door clean off its hinges - with the door flying into some enemies inside the room, knocking them down.
OPPOSED ROLLS
Opposed rolls generally occur when one character is trying to do something and the other character is trying to stop them. One character’s roll must surpass the other.
Example:
Frank is trying to sneak into a building. Joe is guarding the building.
Frank must make a dexterity roll to sneak. Joe must make a perception roll to spot him.
Frank rolls a 1 d20+2 (his dexterity bonus) and rolls a 14
Joe rolls a 1 d20+4 (his perception bonus) and rolls a 16
Joe rolled higher, which means he spots Frank before Frank can sneak in.
A natural 20 will always be a success regardless of if the other number is higher, just as a natural 1 will always be a failure.
PERCENTILE ROLLS
Sometimes, events just happen by sheer chance or luck. In this case, a GM may ask a player to roll a d100.
Example:
Frank is walking across a rickety wooden bridge. It has a 50% chance of breaking. The GM determines that a roll of 1 to 50 means the bridge collapses and 51 to 100 means the bridge holds.
Frank rolls a 1d100 and gets 63
The bridge holds and Frank walks across
In this case there are no bonuses or modifiers.