The Core Mechanic

This section describes the core dice mechanic and its variations.

The D9

Fatewalker uses only 10-sided dice that are all resolved as values 0-9, hence the "D9" moniker. A player will need two sets of approximately 12 dice, each set with a distinct color.

Degree of Success

The basic mechanic is resolved by rolling any number of D9s against a specified “Target Number” (TN for short) between 0 and 8. Each die that comes up as a value equal to or less than the specified value is considered a “Success” and these successes are tallied up to determine the degree of success.

Degrees of Success

Net Successes	Description
0	Complete Failure
1	Near Miss
2	Base Success
3	Total Success
4+	Exceptional Success

Degree of Failure

Degree of failure is used when a mechanic needs to place a solid value on just how bad a character failed. This mechanic only applies to rolls that result in 0 successes (for mechanical purposes the degree of failure for a 1 success roll is 0) and the Degree of Failure is determined as the difference between the face value of the lowest die rolled, and the TN for the roll. For instance if a player rolled 4 D9s against a TN of 1, but their lowest die rolled was a 3 (0 net successes) this would result in a Degree of Failure of 2.

Degrees of Failure

Degree of Failure	Description
0	Near Miss (possibly marginally good consequences)
1	Complete Failure
2-3	Dramatic Failure (unintended consequences likely)
4+	Catastrophic Failure (negative consequences likely)

How Characters Roll

Throughout this document rolls are referred to as Attribute(Skill Branch): +/- Bonus/Penalty (the absence of a bonus or penalty means there is none intrinsic to the roll). When a roll is called for the player will roll a number of dice equal to the appropriate attribute +/- any bonus/penalty dice indicated by the roll. All manner of conditional modifiers as well as up to one applicable Trait can modify the die pool as well. The skill determines the target number. More about skills and attributes can be found in the Character Concepts section.

Background Rolls

Many times a character will be asked to make a roll against one skill where a high degree of skill in a second skill would logically make the task easier. If the character so chooses they can make a Background roll and add net successes (or degree of failure) to the primary roll.

The following rules dictate how Background rolls work

• The supporting skill MUST be a skill Leaf.
• It costs a point of Will to make a Background roll.
• Once the roll is made, net successes or degree of failure MUST be added as a bonus/penalty to the primary roll.
• Fate/Will cannot be spent on Backgroun Rolls.

Opposed Rolls

Opposed rolls often occur when two (or more) characters are taking actions directly opposing the other. Each will make the specified roll and the results will be compared. Only one net success is required for either party to succeed and ties typically go to the initiator of the opposed action.

Extended Roll Resolution

In any situation where a single roll is insufficient to determine the outcome of an action an Extended Roll can be used. This can apply to very long duration actions (researching a topic, climbing a mountain), or very involved actions with lots of individual steps (writing a software program, building a house). These rules require a bit more communication between the Player and GM, and result in a series of individual skill rolls whose totals are successively summed until a specific total is reached. The following process should be followed to manage Extended Rolls.

Extended Roll Steps

1. Determine what the roll is, mechanically (Attribute, Skill Branch). Bonus dice from things such a Reference Skills or Will Abilities may be used only once per Extended roll, thus the player can choose which roll(s) to use them on.
2. Define the parameters for the roll (objectively, how hard is it? What materials, tools, and equipment are needed? How long would this usually take a person of the appropriate skill level to complete?
3. Divide the time to complete by 4, this will determine how much time passes over the course of each roll.
4. Assign a difficulty value based on the following chart

Extended Roll Difficulty

Difficulty Modifier	Description
0	Simple
1	Normal
2	Difficult
3	Masterful
4	Nigh Impossible

Resolution Steps

• When the character is able to commit the time determined in step #3, they can make a roll (after spending the time uninterrupted).
• Every time the player makes a roll, subtract the difficulty value from their successes (this can result in a negative value).
• The result forms the net successes for the roll. This value is added to any net successes from previous and successive rolls.
• When the net total results in 8 or more successes, the action is completed successfully.
• If the net total ever falls below 0, the action will completely fail and must be started again (whatever materials were used, if any, are consumed/ruined).
• Actions that take more than ~40 hours to complete (or more than 10 hours per roll) should be broken down into more steps (Add 2 required successes per additional step)

Extended Roll Modifiers

Situation	Bonus/Penalty
Previous attempt interrupted	-2
Willfully took other actions between rolls (besides rest)	-1
Terrible/Low/High/Exceptional Quality (GM determines effects of “Quality")	+2/+1/-2/-4
+100%/+50%/-33%/-50% Base Time	+2/+1/-2/-4
Exceptional/High/Low/Terrible quality or available Tools	+2/+1/-2/-4
Environmental Factors (earthquake, nuclear explosions nearby, very loud music)	GM discretion