Modifiers

The rules often specify modifiers
for certain success rolls. These bonus-
es and penalties affect the number you
are rolling against – your “target num-
ber” – and not the total rolled on the
dice. Bonuses always improve your
odds, while penalties always reduce
them.
For instance, the Lockpicking skill
description states, “-5 if working by
touch (e.g., in total darkness).” This
means that if you are working in the
dark, you must subtract 5 from your
Lockpicking skill for that attempt. If
your Lockpicking skill is 9, you roll
against 9 minus 5, or 4, in the dark.
A specific scenario might provide
modifiers to allow for the relative ease
or difficulty of a particular situation.
For instance, an adventure might state
that a lock is +10 to open due to the
fact that it is primitive and clumsy. If
your Lockpicking skill were 9, you
would roll against 9 + 10, or 19. Since
the highest roll possible on 3d is 18, it
would seem that success is assured.
This is almost true, but not quite – see
Critical Failure (p. 348).
Modifiers are cumulative unless
stated otherwise. For instance, if you
tried to open that primitive lock in the
dark, both modifiers would apply, and
you would roll against 9 - 5 + 10, or 14.
See Culture (p. 23), Language
(p. 23), Tech-Level Modifiers (p. 168),
Familiarity (p.
169), Equipment