When the world pushes back — a curse to shrug off, frost closing around your limbs, poison working in your veins — you roll a saving throw. A save is a d20 roll plus the relevant ability modifier, made against the difficulty of whatever is trying to affect you.
The save DC
Every effect that calls for a save has a save DC — the number your roll must meet or beat. One formula governs them all:
Save DC = 8 + level + modifier
- Spells use the spell's level and the caster's casting modifier.
- Skills — weapon skills or any skill with a mechanic — use the skill's level and the user's martial modifier.
Higher level means a harder save. A level-1 spell is a light shove; a level-10 incantation is nearly impossible to resist. That is deliberate: the hardest magic in the Codex is meant to land.
The two modifiers
Your casting modifier comes from Intelligence — the stat of the Codex, of scripts memorized and sigils understood:
Casting modifier = (Intelligence − 10) ÷ 2, rounded down
Your martial modifier is your physical prowess — whichever of Strength or Dexterity serves you better:
Martial modifier = the higher of (Strength − 10) ÷ 2 and (Dexterity − 10) ÷ 2, each rounded down
Ability scores cap at 20, so the largest modifier any save DC can draw on is +5.
| Score | Modifier |
|---|
| 8–9 | −1 |
| 10–11 | +0 |
| 12–13 | +1 |
| 14–15 | +2 |
| 16–17 | +3 |
| 18–19 | +4 |
| 20 | +5 |
Reading the table
A caster with Intelligence 16 (+3) casts a level-3 spell: DC 8 + 3 + 3 = 14. A foe with a Constitution save of +2 must roll 12 or better to resist — a little better than half the time. The same caster's level-8 spell: DC 19 — the same foe now needs a 17.
A warrior with Strength 18 (+4) and Dexterity 12 (+1) has a martial modifier of +4. The level-2 skill that forces a save presses at DC 14; their level-6 skill presses at DC 18.
Your character sheet lists both modifier columns and the full DC tables for spell levels 1–10, so you rarely have to do the arithmetic at the table.
When there is no save
Not every mechanic calls for a save:
- Wet applies with no save — drenching someone never fails. Its teeth come from what other damage types do to a Wet target.
- Corrode and Broken have no save; equipment does not dodge acid.
- Augments, blessings, and spells that only help never force saves.
The mechanics, at a glance
| Mechanic | Save | Save DC uses |
|---|
| Burn (Ignis) | Constitution | caster's casting modifier |
| Freeze (Glacies) | Strength | caster's casting modifier |
| Paralyze (Fulgur) | Constitution | caster's casting modifier |
| Sludge (Terra) | Strength | caster's casting modifier |
| Wet (Aqua) | none | — |
| Poisoned | Constitution | caster's casting modifier |
| Diseased | Constitution | caster's casting modifier |
Weapon skills that force saves use the same table with the wielder's martial modifier. If a character's class grants a different casting stat, substitute it for Intelligence wherever this chapter says casting modifier.