DICE AND TERMS
Torchbearer uses common six-sided dice for all rolls. In order to decide the outcome of uncertain events in the game, we roll handfuls of dice— usually three to six. The number of dice rolled depends on how skilled your character is in a particular area and how much help you have in addition to a few other considerations.
In each roll, every die counts as its own result. It’s either a “yes” or a “no.” A yes is called a success. The more successes, the better. Any die that comes up as a “no” result is a hindrance to your cause and doesn’t count toward passing the test. We call those dice wyrms. They’re bad for business!
Successes
A 4, 5 or 6 result on a die is a success. After the dice are rolled, count up all your successes.
Wyrms
A 1, 2 or 3 result is a wyrm.
When you roll dice, you need successes in order to pass the tests set before you in the game.
OBSTACLE
Obstacles are integral to the game. They are descriptive—a steep climb, a rusty lock, a stubborn bill collector—but they’re also described as a number, usually from 1 to 10. The number attached to the obstacle tells you how many successes you need to roll to pass the test.
If A rusty lock is an Obstacle 4 test, I have to roll four successes on my criminal skill to pass the test and open the lock.
Since obstacle is a game system term for Torchbearer, we often shorten it to “Ob” followed by a number indicating the difficulty:
For example, Ob 6 tests are tough to pass.
If you do not roll enough successes to meet your obstacle, the game master introduces a twist (a new obstacle) or gives you a condition in exchange for getting what you want.
+1D, +2D
+1D, +2D, etc., indicates you add the indicated number of dice to your ability or skill before you roll the dice. If you see a notation for just “2D” that means two dice.
-1D, -2D
-1D, -2D, etc., means you subtract the indicated number of dice from your ability or skill before you roll the dice.
+1s, +2s
The +1s or +2s notation indicates that a number of bonus successes are applied to passed or tied rolls—never to failed rolls.
+1s means that if you’ve passed or tied the roll, add another success to your total.
-1s, -2s
If you see a notation for a -1s or -2s, subtract the indicated number of successes after you roll, pass or fail.
-2s indicates that after you roll, subtract two successes and then determine if you passed or failed the roll.
HELP
Help is a potent mechanism in Torchbearer. If you have the same skill or ability that another player has been called to test, you can assist your mate in the endeavor. Your help is worth +1D to the roll. And when you do help, hand them one of your dice. It’s the law of the land.
REROLL 6
Some rules in the game allow you to reroll a die that comes up a 6. When using these rules, leave the die that rolled a 6 on the table so it can be counted. Pick up a new die and roll it for your bonus roll.
If you have a penalty that subtracts successes on a roll, finish rerolling all of your dice before applying the penalty and counting your successes.
2d6, 3d6
If you see a listing for 1d6, 2d6 or 3d6, the lowercase d indicates you roll that many dice and add the results together.
MARGIN OF SUCCESS
As you read on, you’ll see the term “margin of success.” For example:
Reduce your opponent’s disposition by your margin of success.
Margin of success is a game term that means “count each extra success over what you needed to pass the test and use that number.”
If you needed three successes but rolled five, you have a margin of success of two.
MARGIN OF FAILURE
Margin of failure is the opposite of margin of success. It means that you count the number of successes by which you failed the test and use that number.
If you needed three successes and you rolled none, you have a margin of failure of three.
TRAITS
Every character has quirks or ticks imposed by parents, upbringing and life experiences. We call those bits of history and old scars traits. In Torchbearer, your traits both help you and hinder you.
Since you are 1st level, your traits allow you to add one die roll (1d6) to one roll per session if you invoke it. Since we are playing in PbP and not a F2F game, I will let you know when the session has expired. In the game, adding a d6 to your roll is written as so: +1D.
USING TRAITS TO BENEFIT YOURSELF
When you want to use a trait to benefit a roll, describe your action and incorporate the trait into your narration. If the group feels it’s appropriate, take your trait benefit for that test. Be creative with your traits. They are open to interpretation, so you can be inventive and surprise the other players with interesting descriptions of your character.
USING TRAITS AGAINST YOURSELF
If you can incorporate a trait into your description of your character’s actions so that it hinders you, you apply a penalty to your roll.
* You can suffer a -1D penalty to your roll
* You can give your opponent +2D in a versus test
* You can break a tie in your opponent’s favor.
You may use each trait against yourself only once per session.
CHECKS AGAINST TRAITS
If you use a trait against yourself, you earn a resource called a check. You spend checks to make rolls during the camp phase. If you don’t have any checks in the camp phase, your character can help others or use an instinct but not initiate tests or conflicts. Otherwise, you flop down on your bedroll and pass into a restless, fruitless sleep.
