Rule Zero
Is observed.
Skill Checks -
A natural rolled 1 is always a failed roll on a skill check. Most times there will be consequences for making this roll.
A natural rolled 20 is always a successful roll on a skill check. Most times there will be additional useful in game benefits for making this roll.
Notches -
Notches are a game mechanic and can be spent at any time and do not require an action to use (although the actions they modify consume part of your character’s turn as normal). Notches can not have more than one effect in a single round.
Notches once used are taken off the character sheet.
Notches effects varies and they can have a the following effects.
Reroll: Perhaps the most common use for notches, spend five notches and you are allowed to make a reroll. The character must take the reroll even if the number is lower then the original. You are not allowed to reroll 'a natural 1' on a d20.
Act Out of Turn: You can spend five notches to take your turn immediately. Treat this as a readied action, moving your initiative to just before the currently acting creature. You may only take a move or a standard action on this turn.
Inspiration: If you feel stuck at one point in the adventure, you can spend five notches and petition the GM for a hint about what to do next. If the GM feels that there is no information to be gained, the notches are not spent.
Bonus: If used before a roll is made, notches give a + luck bonus to any one dice roll. The cost is one notch plus the bonus you want to add to the roll to a maximum of six notches. Example to get a +2 to a roll spend three notches, to get a +5 to a roll spend six notches.
Extra Action: You can spend seven notches on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn.
Recall: You can spend a eight notches to recall a spell you have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your character that recharge on a daily basis.
Special: You can petition the GM to allow a nine notches to be used to attempt nearly anything that would normally be almost impossible. Such uses are not guaranteed and should be considered carefully by the GM. Possibilities include throwing a spear made of marble that is intended to be an immovable part of a monument, casting a single spell that is one level higher than you could normally cast (or a 1st-level spell if you are not a spellcaster), making an attack that blinds a foe or bypasses its damage reduction entirely, or attempting to use Diplomacy to convince a raging dragon to give up its attack. Regardless of the desired action, the attempt should be accompanied by a difficult check or penalty on the attack roll. No additional notches may be spent on such an attempt, either by the character or her allies.
Cheat Death: A character can spend nine notches to cheat death. How this plays out is up to the GM, but generally the character is left alive, with negative hit points but stable. For example, a character is about to be slain by a critical hit from an arrow. If the character spends nine notches, the GM decides that the arrow pierced the character’s holy symbol, reducing the damage enough to prevent him from being killed, and that he made his stabilization roll at the end of his turn. Cheating death is the only way for a character to spend more notches than once a round. The character can also spend notches in this way to prevent the death of a familiar, animal companion, eidolon, or special mount, but not another character or NPC.
