Roleplaying game

15
Chapter 1: Playing the Game
outward persona. Accumulated strife is measured against a character’s 
composure, and various consequences can occur when a character’s strife 
exceeds their composure. For more on strife in various situations, see 
Strife and Composure, on page 16.
3.  : The player may spend  results to resolve opportunity abilities. 
Opportunities represent narrative flourishes and game effects that oc-
cur independently of a check’s success or failure, as created by the player 
and GM. Each ring also has a number of example mechanical effects 
and story cues that may be resolved if a character used that approach 
for the check (see page 18). Further, many school abilities and tech-
niques, such as kata and kihō, provide new ways to spend . Ultimately, 
GMs are encouraged to allow players to spend  creatively to improvise 
new dramatic avenues or compelling complications for the narrative. 
Although  is spent independently of success or failure, some specific 
uses of  have an effect only under certain circumstances, such as if the 
check was successful (or failed).
4.   : If the sum total of   and   results equals or exceeds the TN of 
the check, the character succeeds at the intention declared. If this total is 
less than the TN of the check, the character fails at the proposed action, 
instead.
Narrating a Check’s Results
So long as the character succeeds at a check, their player gets to narrate 
the outcome of the success within the confines of the intention described 
in Step 1: Declare Intention. For example, if a bushi character succeeds 
at the Attack action they declared, the player gets to narrate that their 
character slashes upward with their katana, cutting through the robes 
of their adversary and into the soft flesh beneath. The player is also re-
sponsible for describing the emotions the strife represents if the check is 
particularly poignant. In this instance, the  they accumulated as part of 
the Attack action could represent their grief at being forced to cut down 
a loved one at their lord’s order—or their glee at finally taking personal 
vengeance against a hated foe. The narrative context of the check—how 
the check fits within the story—guides how players and GMs should 
interpret the  as specific emotions.
Finally, the player also is responsible for interpreting the  they spend 
as part of the check: they should indicate whether they want to spend it in a 
manner that steers the narrative in a direction interesting to them, accord-
ing to the example narrative or mechanical options appropriate to that ring, 
or if the player character’s school ability or techniques give them a special 
means of spending . Sometimes, the GM will need to approve or contrib-
ute to the interpretation of , such as if the character noticed an important 
detail or remembered a relevant fact. If the player does not (or does not 
wish to) designate a way to spend  generated on a check, it is unspent. 
Table 1–2: Example Ways of Spending   on page 23 provides a num-
ber of simple, purely mechanical options players can use in almost any cir-
cumstance. The GM and players alike are encouraged to use these to keep 
the game moving whenever adding further narrative details could slow 
down play without making the scene notably more dramatic or interesting.
Additional Rules Governing Checks
The following are some additional rules that can affect checks. 
Assistance
While a samurai must face some tasks alone, allies can frequently offer 
critical assistance during the major challenges. There are a number of 
ways that one character can provide assistance on another’s check (such 
as those described in Downtime Activities, on page 151, and in Con-
flict Scenes, on page 151), but the effect is always the same.
During Step 3: Assemble and Roll Dice Pool, if a character making 
a check receives assistance from one or more others, the character mak-
ing the check rolls 1 additional Skill die per assisting character who has 1 
or more ranks of the skill in use, and 1 additional Ring die per assisting 
character who has 0 ranks in the skill in use.
At the GM’s discretion, during Step 4: Apply Advantages and Disad-
vantages, up to one advantage from each assisting character can be ap-
plied to the check.
Then, during Step 5: Choose Kept Dice, a character making a check 
with assistance may keep up to 1 additional die per assisting character. 
Finally, during Step 6: Resolve Symbols of Kept Dice, each assisting 
character may choose to suffer 1 strife to negate 1  result on the check.
Bonus Successes and Shortfalls
Sometimes it is important to know the amount by which a character suc-
ceeded at a task (or the extent of their failure). While success and failure 
are sometimes binary, at other times, the degree of one’s success or failure 
is relevant. Successes in excess of the target number of successes (bonus 
successes) might help the character succeed more thoroughly. On the 
other hand, if the character fails, the amount by which they fell short of 
the target number of successes (their shortfall) can reveal the depths of 
their failure.
Determining Bonus Successes
If a character succeeds on a check, their bonus successes are the num-
ber of  and  results in excess of the target number of successes for 
the check.
Determining Shortfall
If a character fails a check, their shortfall is the amount by which the 
sum of their  and  results fell short of the target number.
Adding and Canceling Dice
Some effects instruct you to add dice to the pool or cancel dice 
in the pool. During Step 5: Choose Kept Dice, resolve these effects 
as follows:
•  Add a Rolled Die: When an effect instructs you to add a rolled 
die showing a particular result, after rolling dice but before 
choosing kept dice, place one die of the noted type in the pool 
showing the specified result. It is a rolled die.
•  Add a Kept Die: When an effect instructs you to add a kept die 
showing a particular result, after choosing kept dice, place one 
die of the noted type in the pool showing the specified result. It 
is a kept die.
•  Cancel a Rolled Die: When an effect instructs you to cancel a 
rolled die showing a particular result, after rolling dice but be-
fore choosing kept dice, choose one die in the pool showing the 
specified result. It becomes a dropped die.
•  Cancel a Kept Die: When an effect instructs you to cancel a 
kept die showing a particular result, after choosing kept dice, 
choose one die in the pool showing the specified result. It be-
comes a dropped die.

---