Save Rolls
OVERVIEW
SAVE ROLLS, or “SAVES” are intended to provide a fallback, or catch-all, for when using an ABILITY against a TARGET NUMBER isn’t appropriate. The most common use of a SAVE is to create an opportunity to remove a CONDITION which is harming a Character’s ability to perform within their current context, but other circumstances might be along the lines of escaping a trap or surviving a dragon’s breath. In these cases, a SAVE is the mechanism.
To make a SAVING THROW, a PLAYER uses the same resolution mechanism as in BASIC RESOLUTION, and can (and should) use BOOSTS and TWEAKS as they see fit per ADVANCED RESOLUTION OPTIONS.
A PLAYER will always roll 3d4 as their base roll for a SAVING THROW. Unlike CHALLENGE rolls, SAVES can be BOOSTED by up to FOUR TIERS.
EXAMPLE
Sneeky Peet comes across a locked door and decides it needs picking, as it lies between him and some delectably available treasure. Looking both ways down the hallway, he pulls out his ornate picks, kneels down and gets to work. The lock is simple enough, but in his eagerness he’s overlooked a trap mechanism, and as he deftly twists the lock open, he feels a pinprick at his finger - a poisoned needle!
Andy, Brett’s referee, smiles grimly, telling him that Peet has just been jabbed with a poison with undetermined effects. He’ll need to make a BODY/Endurance SAVE against the poison with a TARGET NUMBER of 6 to avoid them.
Brett groans - he’s already low on BODY points, but he’s concerned by Andy’s expression. For one, he has to spend at least 1 BODY point to even have a chance of saving against the effect, but additionally his ENDURANCE QUALITY is too low and has a MODIFIER of zero, so that’s not going to be of any help either.
Grimacing, Brett marks off two BODY points, raising his saving throw by two tiers from 3d4 to 3d8, and he rolls the save. The dice land on 2, 5, 6 for 1 EFFORT. Brett has no way to TWEAK the dice - no QUALITY MODIFIER, no TOOL, and no LUCK left - so the OUTCOME is a SACRIFICE…
Peet pulls his hand back, barely avoiding the poison, but his hand smacks loudly against the door jamb, and he can’t quite stifle a yelp of pain, which echoes down the corridor. Wincing, he hears movement down the hall and sees a light source drawing near…