Player's Handbook · Chapter 3

One Roll: Four Actions, Four Outcomes

The core roll

Roll 4dF, add your approach bonus (and any stunt or aspect bonuses), and compare to a difficulty the Narrator sets — or to an opponent's roll.

  • Fail: your total is less than the target.
  • Tie: your total equals the target.
  • Succeed: your total is greater than the target.
  • Succeed with style: your total is at least three greater than the target.

Sometimes you just succeed without rolling — if nothing's at stake and nobody's stopping you, the Narrator says so and moves on.

The four actions

Every roll is one of these:

  • Create an advantage — help yourself or a friend. Create or discover an aspect (succeed = one free invocation; style = two), or put a free invocation on an aspect you already know. Tie on a new aspect gives a boost instead.
  • Overcome — get past an obstacle. Fail: no, or succeed at serious cost. Tie: succeed at a minor cost. Succeed: you accomplish your goal. Style: goal + a boost.
  • Attack — hurt someone, physically or mentally. Fail: no effect. Tie: no damage, but you gain a boost. Succeed: damage (see Getting Hurt). Style: damage, and you may reduce it by 1 for a boost.
  • Defend — stop one of the other three. Fail: suffer what their success gives them. Tie/Succeed: their effort falls short (check their action's outcome). Style: they fail and you gain a boost.

An ally can help you: they give up their action and describe how, and you get +1 per helper (the Narrator caps how many can pile on).

Full rules: [The Four Actions & Four Outcomes](@Missing file). Cheat sheet: [Quick Reference](@Missing file). The action card template is [Action Card](@Missing file).

Manual updated Oct 5, 2026.